The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) sold all P15 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bills) at the auction on Monday on the basis of a very liquid market and its preference for short-dated IOUs.
“I think the auction was successful. The total bids amounted to more than double the amount on offer, which was about P36.6 billion. I think the market is still pretty liquid and, of course, these are shorter-dated notes. I think demand is still there,” Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said.
The BTr auction committee awarded in full the 91-day T-bills worth P6 billion, as tenders reached almost four times higher than that offered, reaching P21.115 billion. The committee had to reject P15.155 billion.
The three-month T-bills averaged 9.5 basis points lower to 2.299 percent, from 2.394 percent when last sold.
“The rates came in below secondary market levels across all tenors amid healthy market demand,” the BTr said in a statement.
The 182-day tenor was similarly sold in full at P5 billion, with tenders reaching P9.032 billion although the auction committee threw away P4.032 billion worth of bids. The six-month T-bill rate now average 2.638 percent, or 3 basis points higher compared to the 2.608 percent in the previous auction.
“It hardly moved from last time. If you would notice, the 91-day was much lower in terms of the average. And then for the other two, they were just three- or four-basis points higher than previous. We view it as a sideways movement in terms of the rates,” he said.
The 364-day T-bills were also awarded in full at P4 billion, with tenders reaching P6.145 billion and rejections totaling P2.415 billion. The rate was set at 2.989 percent, or 4.4 basis points higher compared to 2.945 percent in the previous auction.
“Based on our internal estimates and the surveys that we did in the market participants, the results are aligned,” Sta. Ana said.