182-day, 364-day T-bill rates decline at auction

While tenders for the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills surged to at least twice the debt papers' worth, the rates for the six-month and one-year papers fell at auction on Monday.

Total tenders for P2 billion worth of 91-day Treasury bills auctioned by the Bureau of the Treasury reached P4.9 billion. The T-bills averaged 0.080 percent, higher than the 0.05 average they achieved in the previous auction on February 6. The 91-day papers will mature on June 5.

"Demand remains strong in the market," said National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon at the sidelines of the auction, which was held at the BTr office in Intramuros.

However, the rate for 182-day T-bills declined from the 0.33 reached on Feb. 6 to 0.270. Total tenders for the debt papers worth P5 billion reached P11.944 billion. The 182-day bills will mature on September 4.

Total tenders for the 364-day T-bills worth P8 billion reached P21.7 billion. The debt paper's average rate of 0.570 was a 19.8-basis point drop from the previous average of 0.768 on Feb. 6. — BM, GMA News