ECB monetary operations

On March 11 the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on March 12 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €6.09 billion, €0.32 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 March 13 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 2.90 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 March 14, maturing on June 13. Bids of €45 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €15 million. Since €33 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €18 million, to stand at €371.80 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.346 per cent, down by 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 7, representing a bid price of €100.0875 per €100 nominal.

During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Yesterday, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 273-day bills maturing on June 20 and December 19, 2019, respectively.

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