ECB monetary operations
On January 26, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day Main Refinancing Operation. The operation was conducted on January 27 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €12,504.50 million, €1,794.00 million more than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 2.15%, in accordance with current ECB policy.
Also on January 27, the ECB conducted the three-month, longer-term refinancing operation to be settled as a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average MRO rate over the life of the operation. The operation attracted bids of €2,502 million from euro area eligible counterparties.
On January 28, 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 $21 million, which were allotted in full at a fixed rate of 3.88%.
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 January 29, maturing on April 30 and October 29, respectively.
Bids of €78.04 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €18.65 million, while bids of €44.55 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €6.26 million. Since €31.85 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €6.95 million, standing at €754.25 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 1.978%, decreasing by 2.00 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 22, representing a bid price of €99.5025 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was 1.991%, decreasing by 5.50 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 8, representing a bid price of €98.5126 per €100 nominal.
During the week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €20,000 which were executed on the On-exchange market of the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, February 3, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 273-day bills maturing on May 7 and November 5, 2026, respectively.
This report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.
