On May 8, 2017, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 9 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €13.68 billion, €0.75 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 May 10, 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 $0.04 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 28-day and 182-day bills for settlement value May 11, maturing on June 8 and November 9, respectively. Bids of €20 million were submitted for the 28-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2 million, while bids of €50 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €5 million. Since €4 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €3 million, to stand at €224 million.
The yield from the 28-day bill auction was -0.350 per cent, unchanged from bids with a similar tenor issued on February 23, representing a bid price of €100.0272 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.290 per cent, down by four basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on April 27, 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 and 182-day bills maturing on August 17 and November 16, respectively.