T-bill rates mirror market calmed down by easing of Taal threat
T-bill rates on Monday mirrored a market calmed down by a decline in Taal Volcano threats, falling across the board after the successful sale of euro bonds last week.
The Bureau of the Treasury sold all P20 billion in short-dated securities, with tenders reaching P44.5 billion across three tenors, or maturity periods, and twice the offered volume.
For the benchmark 91-day treasury bills, P6 billion was awarded at an average rate of 3.297 percent, down from 3.39 percent last week.
The Treasury also sold P6 billion in 182-day IOUs at 3.597 percent, down from 3.652 percent previously.
As for the P8 billion in 364-day debt paper, the annual rate was 3.963 percent, down from 3.971 percent.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters after the auction that the short end of the curve was enjoying very strong liquidity while bid rates declined as the alert level at Taal Volcano—whose eruption worried investors during the past two weeks—was already brought down to level three from four previously.
Investor sentiment was also buoyed by the sale of 1.2 billion euros in
euro-denominated bonds last week, and the upcoming sale of three-year retail treasury bonds (RTB) starting Tuesday (Jan. 28).
De Leon said the initial P30-billion RTB offer could still be upsized to over P100 billion on top of the switch of P180 billion in maturing RTBs.
The RTBs will be sold over-the-counter as well as online through state-run lenders Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), and First Metro Securities Brokerage, De Leon said.
Edited by TSB
