On February 27, 2017, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on February 28 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €25.25 billion, €5.58 billion lower than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.

On March 1, the ECB conducted a seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $0.49 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 1.16 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 March 2, maturing on June 1 and August 31, respectively. Bids of €40 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €10 million, while bids of €30 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €5 million. Since €32 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €17 million, to stand at €252.20 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.350 per cent, unchanged from bids with a similar tenor issued on February 16, representing a bid price of €100.0886 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.379 per cent, down by 0.2 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on February 23, representing a bid price of €100.1920 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 and 182-day bills maturing on June 8, and September 7 respectively.

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