Average rates on Treasury bills (T-bills) increased during Monday’s auction, ahead of the March inflation data release and the upcoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) monetary policy meeting.
The Bureau of the Treasury had to partially award the offered amount of 91-day T-bills, capping the average rate at 5.307 percent. Despite this, the yield on the three-month debt paper was still higher than last week’s 5.157 percent.
Of the total P25 billion in T-bills offered, only P24.2 billion were awarded. Total tenders reached P45.7 billion.
The yield on the 182-day bill rose to 5.646 percent from 5.554 percent, while the yield on the 364-day bill increased to 5.748 percent from 5.681 percent.
March inflation data is due Friday, and analysts expect it to print around 2.3 percent, up from 2.1 percent in February.
Meanwhile, the BSP is scheduled to hold its monetary policy meeting on April 10. In addition to the inflation data, the central bank will also need to consider the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep policy rates steady.
