On July 2, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on July 3 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €2.28 billion, €0.45 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 six-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $0.10 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 2.42 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 July 5, maturing on October 4 and April 4, 2019, respectively. Bids of €40 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €25 million, while bids of €20 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2million. Since €18 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €9 million, to stand at €344 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.353 per cent, up by 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on June 28, representing a bid price of €100.0893 per €100 nominal.
The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.255 per cent, up by 10.4 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 29, representing a bid price of €100.1937 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 182-day bills maturing on October 11 and January 10, 2019, respectively.