Expectations for another increase in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) key rates next week resulted to the uptick of the central bank's 28-day securities rate Friday. Data released by the BSP showed that average rate of the debt paper rose to 6.6633 percent from 6.6150 percent during the auction last March 10. BSP hiked by PHP20 billion the offer volume to PHP170 billion but tenders only amounted to PHP154.712 billion. The auction committee awarded PHP135.212 billion-worth of bids. It noted that yields accepted in this week's BSP bill auction 'shifted higher and widened to a range of 6.5750-6.7950 percent.' 'The results of the auction came in anticipation of the BSP's monetary policy decision on 23 March and as eligible participants tended to client requirements,' it said. It added that the central bank's 'monetary operations will continue to be guided by its assessment of the prevailing liquidity conditions and market developments.'
Source: Philippines News Agency
