On Monday, February 15, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). This auction, which was conducted last Tuesday, attracted bids for €81.93 billion from euro area eligible counterparties, €5.85 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 May 21, 2010. Bids for €101.18 million were submitted, with the Treasury allotting €31 million. Since €1.96 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €29.04 million to €505.76 million.

The yield resulting from the auction was 1.043 per cent, i.e. 7.7 basis points less than that on bills with a similar tenor issued on February 12, this year. This yield was the lowest ever resulting from a 91-day auction and represented a bid price of 99.7370 per 100 nominal.

Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 273-day bills maturing on November 26, this year. Treasury Bill trading on the Malta Stock Exchange amounted to €4.36 million during the week, with €0.24 million trades being conducted by the Central Bank of Malta in its role as market maker. Concurrently off-exchange transactions amounted to €0.07 million, with all trades being transacted by the Central Bank of Malta.