T-bill rates further rise while peso weakens

The Bureau of the Treasury on Monday awarded all P15 billion in short-dated treasury bills it offered amid strong demand even as rates further rose across the board.

The P5 billion in benchmark 91-day treasury bills fetched an average rate of 1.082 percent, up from 1.068 percent last week.

The Treasury also sold P5 billion in 182-day debt paper at 1.401 percent, up from 1.384 percent previously.

IOUs

Another P5 billion in 364-day IOUs were awarded at an annual rate of 1.629 percent, up from 1.593 percent.

As of press time, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon did not reply to queries why treasury bill rates again increased during Monday’s auction, but she attributed last week’s higher yields partly to the weaker peso.

On Monday morning, the peso opened at 50.42:$1, weaker than Friday’s close of 50.235 against the US dollar.

Oversubscribed

Investors tendered a total of P45.7 billion across the three tenors, making the auction thrice oversubscribed.

The Department of Finance over the weekend said that despite the peso’s recent depreciation to the 50:$1 level, the domestic currency was expected to remain stable on the back of ample foreign reserves and relatively low external debt. INQ