Treasury bill rates rose Monday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting which will likely increase its interest rates this month.
The Bureau of Treasury awarded P11.058 billion worth of short-term debt papers to investors. It fully awarded P8 billion for the 91-day debt instruments, partially awarded P3.058 billion for the 182-day papers and rejected the offer for the 364-day Treasury bills.
“Well of course it’s driven mainly by the Fed meeting that’s being anticipated, so a lot of positions are for shorter term and even probably held in cash. Even in term facility in central bank, there was also undersubscription,” National Treasurer Roberto Tan told reporters after the auction.
“A lot of players are now standing on the sidelines and probably waiting for Fed decision and probably waiting for reaction of Bangko Sentral,” Tan said.
Interest rates for the 91-day or three-month debt facilities rose 7.1 basis points to 1.55 percent while the 182-day bills rates increased 6.7 basis points to 1.876 percent. The yield on the 364-day debt papers also went up 19.7 basis points to 1.88 percent.