Geopolitics hike gov't borrowing costs

The Marcos administration fell short of its borrowing target from short-term debt papers, as interest rates remained elevated despite the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) recent rate cut and expectations of another, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

The national government raised only P24.6 billion on Monday, June 23, through the sale of three-month, six-month, and one-year debt securities, which fell short of the P25 billion offered.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) made a partial award after receiving total bids of P64.5 billion, which is just over double the amount offered.

This week's total bids continued to decline from the P74.2 billion recorded in the similar auction previously, which also saw a drop in demand.

For the 91-day Treasury bills (T-bills, the government awarded only P4.4 billion, just more than half of the P8 billion offered. Total tenders reached P20.5 billion. The average rate was 5.530 percent, 7.1 basis points (bps) higher than the previous week's 5.459 percent.