The Bureau of the Treasury seeks to raise P45 billion for budget support through the auction of Treasury bills and bonds next week in the face of inflation concerns due to rising cost of food and fuel.
Scheduled on Monday is the auction of P15 billion worth of Treasury bills—P5 billion each for 91-day, 182-day and 364-day debt paper.
The BTr on Monday awarded the entire P15 billion it offer after attracting total bids of P51.8 billion. The 3-, 6- and 12-month T-bills fetched average rates of 5.575 percent, 5.960 percent, and 6.190 percent, respectively, all lower than secondary market rates.
Next Tuesday, the government will auction P30 billion worth of T-bonds originally issued as a 10-year bond due August 2033. When the bond was auctioned last month, the coupon rate was set at 6.625 percent.
At this week’s T-bond auction, the BTr awarded only P9.9 billion of the P30 billion offered for the bond due to high rates sought by bidders for debt paper originally issued in July with a 7-year maturity. The accepted average rate was 6.370 percent. Total tenders reached P57.8 billion.
Including the awarded amount Tuesday, the total outstanding volume for the bond series increased to P34.7 billion.
Inflation remains a concern for the market, with the outlook for further deceleration clouded by the rising cost of food and fuel.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in May paused its aggressive policy tightening as inflation started easing in February, with headline inflation steadily slowing from a peak of 8.7 percent in January to 4.7 percent in July. It accelerated anew in August to 5.3 percent.
