THE mixed results received for the Treasury bills (T-bills) auction on Monday reflects investors continue to bet on longer-dated securities.
Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said that demand for government paper, as surveyed through government securities eligible dealers (GSEDs), was skewed towards the longer-end of the curve, with rates for the 182- and 364-day T-bills were lower than that of the 91-day IOU.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Monday awarded P17.455 billion from the P20 billion on offer.
“Basically, it’s just consistent with the feedback we got from our GSEDs; so the demand really is coming now from the long-end,” Sta. Ana said. “As you can see from the results of the auction; so it’s more skewed towards 182- and 364-day.”
The 91-day T-bill was partially awarded P3.455 billion from the P6 billion on offer with tenders reaching P6.605 billion.
The average annual rate for the security was capped at 5.787 percent, which posted a slight uptick of 0.1 basis points compared to the previous auction rate of 5.786 percent.
“I think, for the 91-day, they’re actually factoring in the policy adjustment if ever by the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas], what happens in the short term in terms of would there be further easing of inflation,” Sta. Ana said. “So I think it’s really more of those factors that they are looking out now.”
Last week, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno announced that the Monetary Board has kept all monetary-policy rates unchanged and retained the level of the banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) as inflation pressures eased further.
The interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility stayed at 4.75 percent, with interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also kept steady at 5.25 percent and 4.25 percent, respectively.
Tenders for the 182-day T-bill amounted to P11.76 billion with the auction committee fully awarding the P6 billion on offer.
The average rate for the security settled at 5.927 percent, posting a decrease of 6 basis points compared to the previous rate of 5.987 percent.
The 364-day T-bill was awarded the full P8 billion on offer with tenders for the security amounting to P12.81 billion.
The rate for the security settled at 6.044 percent, which posted a minimal 0.7-basis-point contraction compared to the previous auction rate of 6.051 percent.