Philippine Treasury Fully Allocates T-Bill Auction Amid Rising Yields

In Manila, the Bureau of the Treasury successfully met its full allocation target for Treasury bills during Monday’s auction. The auction saw the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day T-bills being sold at average rates of 5.128 percent, 5.562 percent, and 5.726 percent, respectively. Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, noted that the average yields on these T-bills had edged up slightly after a five-week decline, influenced by the anticipation of a 0.25 basis points rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas later in the week. The corresponding PHP BVAL yields stood at 5.170 percent for the three-month term, 5.496 percent for the six-month term, and 5.720 percent for the one-year term. Ricafort also mentioned that the slight increase in T-bill yields was due to heightened demand for long-term local government securities. The auction was oversubscribed by 2.3 times, with total bids reaching PHP50.1 billion. Consequently, the Committee was able to raise the complete PHP22 billion intended for the auction.