On August 11, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on August 14 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €4.81 billion, €0.22 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 August 16, 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 1.66 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 273-day bills for settlement value on August 17, maturing on November 16 and May 17, 2018, respectively. Bids of €50 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €10 million, while bids of €25 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2 million. Since €11 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €1 million, to stand at €144.40 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.351 per cent, down by 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 10, representing a bid price of €100.0888 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.290 per cent, down by six basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 30, representing a bid price of €100.2204 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 bills maturing on November 23.