On Monday, April 22, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The auction was conducted on Tuesday, April 23, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €110.41 billion, €5.96 billion lower than the bid amount in the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 0.75 per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On Tuesday, April 23, the ECB conducted an auction for a seven-day fixed-term deposit intended to absorb €202.5 billion. This operation was designed to sterilise the effect of purchases made under the Securities Markets Programme that were settled but had not yet matured by the previous Friday, April 19. The auction was carried out at a variable rate, with euro area eligible counterparties allowed to place up to four bids at a maximum rate of 0.75 per cent.
It attracted bids amounting to €253.82 billion, with the ECB allotting €202.5 billion or 79.78 per cent of the total bid amount. The marginal rate on the auction was set at 0.14 per cent, with the weighted average rate at 0.05 per cent.
On Wednesday, April 24, the ECB conducted a three-month longer-term refinancing oper-ation to be settled as a fixed-rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average rate of the MROs over the life of the operation. The auction attracted bids of €2.98 billion from euro area eligible counterparties, which amount was allotted in full in accordance with current ECB policy.
Furthermore, on Wednesday, April 24, the ECB conducted a seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This oper-ation attracted bids of $1.3 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.64 per cent.
On the same day the ECB, in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve, conducted an 84-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending. This attracted bids of $0.027 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.63 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 182-day bills maturing on October 25. Bids of €32 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €20 million. Since €21 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €1 million, to stand at €292.30 million.
The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 0.854 per cent, i.e. 0.6 basis point lower than on bills with a similar tenor issued on April 19, representing a bid price of 99.5701 per 100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day bills maturing on August 2.