Results were mixed on Monday’s Treasury bill (T-bill) auction as the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) decided to fully award bids for the 364-day securities, while partially awarding the 91- and 182-day T-bills. The 364-day securities fetched an average rate of 6.388 percent, up from last week’s 6.305 percent. Meanwhile, the 91- and 182-day T-bills were capped at 5.990 percent and 6.207 percent, respectively, also higher than the 5.806 percent and 6.115 percent, respectively, last Oct. 9. The auction was 1.3 times oversubscribed, attracting PHP19.4 billion in total tenders. With its decision, the BTr raised PHP11.9 billion of the PHP15 billion total offering. In a statement, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said T-bill average auction yields were again higher for the fourth consecutive week. Ricafort said the T-bill average auction yields were also higher for the second straight week since the Israel-Hamas war that led to higher global crude oil prices to new one-week highs. “T-bill auction yields were also again higher after the latest signals from local monetary authorities on a possible +0.25 (basis points) local policy rate hike that cannot be ruled out in November 2023,” he said. “The US and Iran recently warned of a wider Israel-Hamas war. The markets are on wait-and-see stance as Israel plans soon a major ground offensive versus Hamas in Gaza,” he added.
Source: Philippines News Agency
