Average rates on Treasury bills were mixed in Monday’s auction, with six-month and 12-month debt papers seeing a softening of yields due to expectations of further rate cuts by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). However, uncertainty continued to push yields on three-month bills higher.
Total bids for the auction amounted to P63.33 billion, more than double the P25 billion offered volume. Nearly half of the total bids, or P31.34 billion, were for the 364-day bills.
The average rate on the 91-day T-bill rose to 5.393 percent, up from 5.307 percent the previous week, while the yield on the 182-day bill edged down marginally to 5.645 percent from 5.646 percent. The rate on the three-month paper would have been higher had there not been a partial rejection of bids.
Meanwhile, the yield on the 364-day bill eased slightly to 5.726 percent from 5.748 percent last week, supported by strong demand for the one-year debt.
Analysts expect the BSP to lower interest rates on Thursday, following a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority showing that inflation slowed to 1.8 percent in March, its lowest level since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.
