T-bill rates mixed as more BSP cuts loom

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bills it auctioned off on Monday at mixed rates amid expectations of further policy easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year.

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The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P25 billion as planned from the T-bills it auctioned off on Monday as total bids reached P78.388 billion, more than thrice the amount on offer and also higher than the P70.345 billion in tenders recorded on May 13.

Broken down, the Treasury borrowed the programmed P8 billion via the 91-day T-bills on Monday as tenders for the tenor reached P24.1 billion. The three-month paper was quoted at an average rate of 5.515%, 3.1 basis points (bps) lower than the 5.546% seen in the previous auction. Tenders accepted by the BTr carried yields of 5.505% to 5.522%.

The government likewise made a full P8-billion award of the 182-day securities it auctioned off as bids for the paper amounted to P34.328 billion. The average rate of the six-month T-bill was at 5.612%, 3.8 bps below the 5.65% fetched last week, with accepted rates ranging from 5.599% to 5.622%.

Lastly, the Treasury raised P9 billion as planned via the 364-day debt papers as demand for the tenor totaled P19.96 billion. The average rate of the one-year T-bill rose by 4.7 bps to 5.702% from 5.655% previously, with the bids awarded having yields of 5.65% to 5.712%.