ECB monetary operations
On January 6, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a seven-day main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on January 7, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.10 billion, €0.36 billion less than the bid amount of 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 January 9, the ECB conducted a seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $0.06 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 2.05 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills for settlement value January 9, maturing on April 9, and July 9, respectively. Bids of €75 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €4 million, while bids of €70 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €13 million. Since €2 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €15 million, standing at €322 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.435 per cent, a decrease of 0.2 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 2, representing a bid price of €100.1101 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.409 per cent, a drop of 0.8 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 5, 2019, representing a bid price of €100.2072 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day bills maturing on April 16.