On April 3, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on April 4 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €13.17 billion, €1.58 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 April 5, 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 $0.05 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 1.41 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 April 6, maturing on July 6, and October 5 respectively. Bids of €35 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €10 million, while bids of €25 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €5 million. Since €15 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills remained unchanged at €225.20 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.351 per cent, down by 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 23, representing a bid price of €100.0888 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.290 per cent, also down by 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 23, representing a bid price of €100.1468 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 July 13.