BTr partially awards Treasury bills at mixed rates

THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday with mixed rates as risk sentiment took a hit due to the escalation of the war between Iran and Israel.

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The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised just P24.6 billion from the T-bills it auctioned off on Monday, short of the P25-billion plan, even as the offer was more than twice oversubscribed, with total bids reaching P65.47 billion. However, the demand seen was lower than the P74.205 billion in tenders recorded on June 16.

The Treasury partially awarded the three-month tenor as it rejected high bids, it said in a statement. The BTr awarded only P4.4 billion in 91-day T-bills on Monday, well below than the P8-billion plan and even as total tenders for the tenor reached P20.49 billion. The three-month paper was quoted at an average rate of 5.53%, 1.9 basis points (bps) lower than the 5.549% seen in the previous auction, with tenders accepted by the Treasury having yields of 5.45% to 5.555%.

Meanwhile, the government raised P11.2 billion from the 181-day securities it offered on Monday, higher than the P8-billion program, as bids amounted to P25.125 billion. The average rate of the six-month T-bill was at 5.557%, up by 3.4 bps from the 5.523% fetched last week, with accepted rates ranging from 5.522% to 5.588%.

Strong demand prompted the BTr to double its acceptance of non-competitive bids for the six-month T-bill to P6.4 billion, it said.

Lastly, the Treasury raised P9 billion as planned via the 364-day debt papers as demand for the tenor totaled P19.855 billion.