MRO's marginal rate remains unchanged

On Monday, August 4, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). This operation attracted bids for €241.89 billion from euro area eligible counterparties, with the ECB allotting €160 billion, or 66.39 per cent of the total amount bid for.

The marginal rate, which is the rate at which the total tender allotment is exhausted, was set by the ECB at 4.38 per cent, unchanged from that on the MRO of the previous week.

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills maturing on November 7. Bids for €74.93 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €54.83 million.

As €39.07 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €15.76 million to €438.05 million.

The yield resulting from the auction was 4.908 per cent, 0.5 basis points higher than that on bills with a similar tenor issued on August 1. The latest yield represented a bid price of 98.7746 per 100 nominal.

Today the Treasury will invite tenders for 92-day bills maturing on November 14. These will be issued on Thursday, since Friday is a public holiday. The following week the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day bills maturing on November 21.

Treasury bill trading on the Malta Stock Exchange amounted to €1.85 million, with all trades being conducted by the bank in its role as market maker. Off-Exchange transactions amounted to €1.03 million, with €690,000 being carried out by other brokers.