ECB monetary operations

On February 13, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation. The operation was conducted on February 14 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €796.50 million, €181.00 million less than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of three per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.

On February 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 $391.60 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 4.83 per cent.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 364-day bills for settlement value February 16, maturing on May 18, 2023 and February 15, 2024, respectively. Bids of €200.58 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €32.73 million, while bids of €37.82 million were submitted for the 364-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €21.13 million. Since €48.55 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €5.31 million, standing at €904.04 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 2.703 per cent, increasing by 4.80 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on February 9, representing a bid price of €99.3214 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 364-day bill auction was 3.015 per cent, increasing by 9.70 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 22, representing a bid price of €97.0417 per €100 nominal.

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

Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on May 25 and August 24, 2023, respectively.

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