Treasury bill rates held steady at Monday’s auction as the market awaited fresh inflation data expected to influence the direction of monetary policy.
The May inflation figures are scheduled for release on Thursday, just two weeks before the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) convenes its monetary board meeting. In April, the BSP lowered its benchmark interest rate to 5.5 percent.
At Monday’s auction, the average rate for the 91-day treasury bill slightly eased to 5.452 percent from last week’s 5.468 percent. The 364-day bill rate also dipped to 5.680 percent from 5.694 percent. Meanwhile, the yield on the 182-day bill rose modestly to 5.565 percent from 5.551 percent.
Investor demand remained strong, with total bids reaching P116.3 billion—more than 4.7 times the P25 billion offered at auction. In response, the auction committee increased the accepted volume to P28.6 billion, with additional bids for one-year maturity accepted.
