On July 3, 2017, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on July 4 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €8.25 billion, €3.39 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 July 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 $0.06 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 1.66 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 July 6, maturing on October 5.
Bids of €20 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €10 million. Since €12 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €2 million, to stand at €184.40 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.340 per cent, down by 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on June 28, representing a bid price of €100.0860 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 364-day bills maturing on October 12, 2017 and July 12, 2018, respectively.