Slight decrease in three-month Treasury bill rate

On Monday, April 19, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). This auction, which was conducted on Tuesday, attracted bids for €70.23 billion from euro area eligible counterparties, which amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing main refinancing rate of one per cent in accordance with the current ECB policy.

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills maturing on July 23. Bids for €87 million were submitted, with the Treasury allotting €9 million. Since €44.89 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €35.89 million to €569.77 million.

The yield resulting from the auction was 0.550 per cent, i.e. 1.3 basis points less than that on bills with a similar tenor issued on April 16.

The latest yield represented a bid price of 99.8612 per 100 nominal. Treasury bill trading on the Malta Stock Exchange amounted to €3.12 million during the week, with all trades being conducted by the Central Bank of Malta in its role as market maker.

Today the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills maturing on July 30.