On May 5, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 6, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €10,639.50 million, €4,969.50 million less than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 2.40%, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On May 7, 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 $30 million, which were allotted in full at a fixed rate of 4.58%.
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 May 8, maturing on August 7, 2025, and February 5, 2026, respectively.
Bids of €65.59 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €27.98 million, while bids of €50.08 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €8.54 million. Since €28.65 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €7.87 million, standing at €583.20 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 2.036%, decreasing by 7.0 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on April 30, representing a bid price of €99.4880 per €100 nominal.
The yield from the 273-day bill auction was 1.958%, decreasing by 150.00 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 25, 2024, representing a bid price of €98.5369 per €100 nominal.
During the week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €90,000, all executed on the On-exchange market of the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 273-day bills maturing on August 14, 2025, and February 12, 2026, respectively.
The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.