ECB monetary operations

On March 21, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on March 22 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €204 million, €22 million less than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.

On March 23, the ECB conducted the seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $230.50 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.58 per cent.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 182-day and 273-day bills for settlement value March 24, maturing on September 22 and December 22, respectively.

Bids of €54.50 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €49.50 million, while bids of €49 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €9 million. Since €51.50 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €7 million, standing at €704.70 million.

The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.330 per cent, increasing by 6.1 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 3, representing a bid price of €100.1671 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.319 per cent, increasing by 4.7 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 10, representing a bid price of €100.2425 per €100 nominal.

During this week, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.

On Monday, the Treasury invited tenders for 92-day and 183-day bills maturing on June 30 and September 29, 2022, respectively.

The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.