Treasury rejects all T-bill bids

The Bureau of the Treasury rejected all bids for the bills it offered Monday as investors held on to their cash amid the monthlong quarantine being implemented across the country to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

The full rejection came on the back of “throw away bids” as there was a preference to hold cash due to the lingering virus, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said.

In a statement, the Treasury noted that average bid rates climbed to 3.841 percent for the benchmark 91-day, 4.766 percent for the 182-day and 5.35 percent for the 364-day T-bills—all “higher as expected.”

Two weeks ago, three-month debt paper fetched an average of 3.024 percent while the six-month and one-year IOUs were awarded last week at 3.398 percent and 3.557 percent, respectively. —Ben O. de Vera INQ