Money Market Report for week ending 30 December

ECB Monetary Operations

On 22 December, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on 27 December and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €2.41bn, €1.13bn more than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 2.50%, in accordance with current ECB policy.

Domestic Treasury Bill Market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the

Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 181-day bills for settlement value 29 December, maturing on 30 March and 28 June, respectively. Bids of €156.90m were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €41.90m, while bids of €63m were submitted for the 181-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €22.90m. Since €75m worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €10.20m, standing at €846.70m.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 2.225%, increasing by 6.80 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on 22 December, representing a bid price of €99.4407 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 181-day bill auction was 2.404%, increasing by 0.6 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on 15 December, representing a bid price of €98.8058 per €100 nominal.

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

On Tuesday the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on 6 April and 6 July, respectively.