Treasury sells P 15B in 35-day bills
The Bureau of the Treasury’s offering of 35-day bills on Tuesday was met with robust demand, resulting in a full award P15 billion at an average rate of 2.714 percent.
Bids for the come-backing tenor amounted P62.2 billion, making the auction more than four times oversubscribed.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the Treasury would sell another P10 billion of the five-week IOUs maturing on May 27 to its 11 government securities eligible dealers (GSEDs)-market makers through the tap facility window.
De Leon attributed the full award to “strong liquidity since the P120-billion redemption [of treasury bonds was] still to be deployed.”
“Governor [Benjamin E. Diokno] also sounded that [the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] has a lot of arsenal for the war against COVID-19. And, of course, this is just 35-day tenor so might as well earn some interest while banks are still risk averse” given the uncertainty if the ongoing and extended enhanced community quarantine imposed in Luzon and other parts of the country would be lifted or modified by April 30.
With the strong investor demand for the 35-day debt paper, De Leon said they might consider to regularly offer this very short tenor.
High bid rates prevented the Treasury from selling 35-day bills last March 31, the first time since 2004 that these securities were again offered.
Last Monday, the Treasury sold another P10 billion in 364-day bills via its tap facility. —BEN O. DE VERA INQ
