ECB monetary operations

On October 28, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO).

The operation was conducted on October 31 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €3.11 billion, €1.48 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 2, 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 $0.19 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 4.08 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 November 3, maturing on February 2 and May 4, 2023, respectively.

Bids of €132.05 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €32.05 million, while bids of €6.52 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €1.10 million. Since €47 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €13.85 million, standing at €901.54 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 1.578 per cent, increasing by 34.60 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 27, representing a bid price of €99.6027 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 1.982 per cent, increasing by 13.70 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 20, 2022, representing a bid price of €99.0079 per €100 nominal. During this week, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Today, November 8, the Treasury will invite tenders for 27-day and 91-day bills maturing on December 7, 2022 and February 9, 2023, respectively.

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