On August 28, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on August 29 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €5.91 billion, €1.35 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 August 30, the ECB conducted a three-month, longer-term refinancing operation to be settled as a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average rate of the MROs over the life of the operation. The operation attracted bids of €2.9 billion from euro area eligible counterparties. The amount was allotted in full in accordance with current ECB policy.
Also on August 30, 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 bills for settlement value August 31, maturing on November 30. Bids of €53 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €25 million. Since €14 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €11 million, to stand at €156.4 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.356 per cent, down by 0.3 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 24, representing a bid price of €100.0901 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
This week there will be no auctions for Treasury bills.