ECB monetary operations
On September 13, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO).
The operation was conducted on September 14 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €344 million, €25m more than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 0.00%, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On September 15 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 $230.20 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.33%.
During the week under review, participants in the TLTRO-III operations 1 to 5 had the option of terminating or reducing their outstanding amount before maturity. Accordingly, on September 29, €79.24 billion will be repaid.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills and 273-day bills for settlement value September 16, maturing on December 16, 2021, and June 16, 2022, respectively. Bids of €20 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting all bids, while bids of €24 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €20 million. Since €50 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €10 million, standing at €768.50 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.394%, increasing by 0.3 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on September 9, representing a bid price of €100.0997 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.371%, increasing by 7.9 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on July 8, representing a bid price of €100.2821 per €100 nominal.
During this week, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
On Monday, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on December 23, 2021, and March 24, 2022, respectively.