ECB monetary operations

On October 11, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO).  The operation was conducted on October 12 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €193 million, €39 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 October 13, 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 $236 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.33 per cent.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 28-day bills and 91-day bills for settlement value October 14, maturing on November 11, 2021, and January 13, 2022, respectively.

Bids of €63 million were submitted for the 28-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €5 million, while bids of €91 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €21 million. Since €26 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills remained unchanged at €685.50 million.

The yield from the 28-day bill auction was -0.445 per cent, unchanged from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 7, representing a bid price of €100.0346 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.411 per cent, decreasing by 1.2 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on October 7, representing a bid price of €100.1040 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 91-day bills maturing on November 18, 2021, and January 20, 2022, respectively.