Gov’t raises P20-B from T-bills auction

MANILA – The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded bids for Treasury bills (T-bills), raising PHP20 billion during Monday's auction.

The 91-, 183-, and 364-day T-bills fetched average rates of 5.686 percent, 5.959 percent, and 6.050 percent, respectively - all lower than the prevailing secondary market rates.

The comparative Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) rates was at 5.743 percent for the three-month tenure, 6.004 percent for the six-month tenure, and 6.074 percent for the one-year tenor.

Compared to last week's rates, however, today's T-bills' average rates went up from 5.666 percent, 5.930 percent, and 6.031 percent, respectively.

"Treasury bill average auction yields again slightly higher week-on-week, similar to the slight weekly increase in the comparable PHP BVAL yields, but still mostly slightly lower versus the said comparable PHP BVAL yields, ahead of the latest inflation data on July 5, 2024," Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.

Ricafort said the US Treasury yields were also higher with the benchmark 10-year tenor among two-month highs at 4.39 percent.

He said this is amid a possible Trump victory later this year and mostly cautious signals from most Fed officials recently.

The auction was 2.2 times oversubscribed, attracting PHP43 billion in total tenders.

With the full award, the BTr raised the full program of PHP20 billion for the auction. (PNA)