Treasury bill yields were lower at the auction Monday, with demand for short-term debt paper rising ahead of the interest rate-setting meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The Bureau of the Treasury awarded in full the P15 billion offered during the auction—P5 billion for each maturity. Total tenders reached P50.51 billion.
The average rate on the 91-day treasury bill eased to 5.710 percent from last week’s 5.744 percent. Yield on the 182-day bill slipped to 5.880 percent from 5.916 percent while that on the 364-day paper softened to 5.982 percent from the previous 6.033 percent.
Treasury bill yields influence the interest rates collected by banks on real estate mortgages and consumer loans, including credit card and car loans.
Last week, the government reported a budget surplus of P88 billion for January, giving the government some elbow room in its borrowing strategy.
In the April to June quarter, the government plans to issue P585 billion worth of treasury bills and bonds—P195 billion from the offer treasury bills and P390 billion from the auction of treasury bonds, with maturing ranging from 3 to 20 years.
