ECB monetary operations

On November 7, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on November 8 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.55 billion, €1.56 billion less than the previous week.

The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of two per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy. On November 9, 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 $0.20 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 4.09 per cent.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 27-day and 91-day bills for settlement value November 10, maturing on December 7 and February 9, 2023, respectively.

Bids of €125.50 million were submitted for the 27-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €3.50 million, while bids of €57.77 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €20.57 million. Since €56 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €31.93 million, standing at €869.61 million.

The yield from the 27-day bill auction was 0.550 per cent, increasing by 97.90 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 2, 2021, representing a bid price of €99.9588 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 1.607 per cent, increasing by 2.90 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on November 3, 2022, representing a bid price of €99.5954 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 February 16 and May 18, 2023, respectively.

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