On Monday, March 22, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO).

This auction, which was conducted today week, attracted bids for €81.06 billion from euro area eligible counterparties, €2.03 billion more than the amount bid for in the previous week. The bid amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing main refinancing rate of one per cent in accordance with the current ECB policy.

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills maturing on June 25 and 182-day bills maturing on September 24. Bids for €83.05 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €6 million, while bids for €68.3 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €35 million. Since €26.64 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €14.36 million to €534.76 million.

The yield resulting from the 91-day bill auction was 0.8 per cent, 9.5 basis points below that on bills with a similar tenor issued on March 18. The latest yield on such bills represented a bid price of 99.7982 per 100 nominal.

The yield resulting from the 182-day bill auction was a new low of 0.862 per cent, i.e. 38.5 basis points lower than that on bills with a similar tenor issued on February 5. The yield on these bills represented a bid price of 99.5661 per 100 nominal.

Treasury bill trading on the Malta Stock Exchange amounted to €10.64 million during the week, with €7.22 million trades being conducted by the Central Bank of Malta in its role as market maker.

Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 92-day bills maturing on July 2.