On November 6, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on November 7 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €2.70 billion, €0.29 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 November 8, 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.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 28-day and 273-day bills for settlement value November 9, maturing on December 7 and August 9, 2018, respectively. Bids of €50 million were submitted for the 28-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €15 million, while bids of €67 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €10 million. Since €15 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €10 million, to stand at €175.40 million.
The yield from the 28-day bill auction was -0.380 per cent, up by 0.3 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on November 2, representing a bid price of €100.0296 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.320 per cent, down by 3.0 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 17, representing a bid price of €100.2433 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 28-day and 91-day bills maturing on December 14 and February 15, 2018, respectively.