Manila: Results were mixed in Monday's Treasury bills auction, with the Committee fully awarding bids for the 91- and 182-day T-bills, while partially awarding the 364-day security.
According to Philippines News Agency, the 91- and 182-day T-bills fetched average rates of 4.558 percent and 4.737 percent, respectively, prompting the Committee to double the non-competitive bids for these tenors to PHP9.6 billion and PHP7.2 billion. Total demand for the 91-day tenor amounted to PHP36.9 billion with the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) accepting PHP16.8 billion, higher than the PHP12-billion initial offer. For the 182-day security, tenders reached PHP23.2 billion. Of the total, PHP12.6 billion was awarded, also higher than the PHP12-billion program.
Meanwhile, acceptance of the 364-day T-bills was capped at PHP8.2 billion with an average of 5.184 percent. Last week, the average rate of the 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills settled at 4.542 percent, 4.649 percent, and 5.052 percent.
"Treasury bill average auction yields mostly corrected slightly higher after the latest +0.25 [basis points] Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rate hike to 4.50% and signals of future BSP rate hike," Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said. With its decision, the Committee raised PHP37.6 billion from the PHP30 billion initial program.
