On April 28, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 2 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €14.43 billion, €0.02 billion higher 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 3, 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 91-day bills for settlement value May 4, maturing on August 3. Bids of €15 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €10 million. Since €8 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €2 million, to stand at €221 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.320 per cent, down by 1.1 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on April 27, representing a bid price of €100.0810 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 28-day and 182-day bills maturing on June 8, and November 9, respectively.