ECB monetary operations

On November 1, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on November 2 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €68 million, €35 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 November 3, the ECB conducted an eight-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $228 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.32 per cent.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 28-day bills and 273-day bills for settlement value November 4, maturing on December 2 and August 4, 2022, respectively. Both the 28-day and the 273-day bills received bids of €3 million each, with the Treasury accepting all submitted bids. Since €27 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €21 million, standing at €708 million.

The yield from the 28-day bill auction was -0.457 per cent, decreasing by 1.7 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 28, representing a bid price of €100.0356 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.399 per cent, 2.8 basis points lower from bids with a similar tenor issued on September 16, representing a bid price of €100.3035 per €100 nominal.

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

Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 28-day and 90-day bills maturing on December 9 and February 9, 2022, respectively.

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