Treasury hikes T-bill award as yields end mixed

THE GOVERNMENT upsized the Treasury bills (T-bills) it awarded on Monday, with the tenors fetching mixed yields amid higher demand for longer-tenored investments as players adjust their portfolios before the yearend.

- A.M.C. Sy

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P25 billion from the T-bills it auctioned off, higher than the P22-billion plan, as the offer was almost four times oversubscribed, with totals reaching P84.87 billion. This was just a tad higher than the P84.015 billion in tenders recorded at last week's auction.

The Auction Committee fully awarded the offering as all tenors fetched average rates that were lower than those quoted at the secondary market, the BTr said in a statement.

Broken down, the Treasury borrowed P7 billion as planned via the 91-day T-bills as total tenders for the tenor reached P28.31 billion. The three-month paper was quoted at an average rate of 4.849%, inching up by 0.7 basis point (bp) from 4.842% in the previous auction. Yields accepted were from 4.828% to 4.873%.

The government also sold the programmed P7.5 billion in 182day securities as tenders for the tenor totaled P29.55 billion. The average rate of the one-year T-bill was flat at 4.97%. Bids awarded carried yields from 4.95% to 4.973%.