MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) accepted all bids for the 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills (T-bills) but made partial award for the 364-day paper during yesterday’s auction.
Rates for the bellwether 91-day paper stood at 2.394 percent, two basis points higher than the 2.374 percent recorded in the previous auction.
Total tenders for the 91-day T-bills amounted to P18.53 billion, more than three times the P6 billion offering.
The 182-day tenor also fetched a higher rate of 2.608 percent from the 2.606 rate recorded in the previous auction.
“For the 91-day and the 182-day (T-bills), they are aligned with our expectations, and I think the market has also signaled that the Treasury is very liquid,” National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon told reporters after the auction.
The 364-day T-bills fetched an average rate of 2.945 percent, 14.6 basis points up from the previous rate of 2.799 percent, as traders tried to align their rates with term deposit auction results.
The offering was oversubscribed with P5.3 billion in total tenders.
De Leon said the 364-day securities were only partially awarded to manage the rates of BTr’s liabilities.
“We did a partial award on the 364-day (T-bills)...We have been making sure that rates will stay reasonable,” De Leon said.
She said the BTr now has more flexibility in the acceptance of rates given its healthy cash position after a successful public offering of three-year retail treasury bonds (RTB).