T-bill rates inch up across the board

Treasury bills rates rose across the board on Monday as inflation climbed in the aftermath of the strong typhoons that battered the country in November.

The Bureau of the Treasury nonetheless awarded all of the P20 billion in short-dated debt it offered amid robust demand.

The Treasury sold P5 billion in the benchmark 91-day bills at an average of 1.015 percent, up from 1.006 percent last week.

It also awarded P5 billion in 182-day IOUs at 1.399 percent, up from 1.386 percent previously.

The 364-day securities fetched an annual rate of 1.695 percent, up from 1.693 percent during the previous auction.

Despite the average yields inching up across the three tenors, the Treasury said in a statement that these remained below secondary benchmark rates.

In all, investors tendered P74.8 billion, making the auction 3.7 times oversubscribed.

“Liquidity is very much around and rates remain low as markets see November inflation as one-off with recent typhoons,” National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said.

Headline inflation climbed to 3.3 percent year-on-year in November mainly as food prices soared due to supply chain bottlenecks resulting from the string of six strong typhoons since October that inflicted a total of P15.3 billion in damage, including losses in high-value crops, mainly in the regions of Bicol, Calabarzon, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon.

The Philippines is bracing for a prolonged wet season due to La Niña seen spilling over to early next year. —Ben O. de Vera INQ