T-bill rates up across the board

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of the Treasury fully awarded P15 billion in short-dated T-bills yesterday, its first time to do so since April, even as rates continue to increase across the board.

The Treasury managed to raise P5 billion each from the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day T-bills after it attracted P32.76 billion in bids, oversubscribing the auction by 2.18 times.

Rates for the 91-day T-bills went up by 12.5 basis points to 1.908 percent from the market pricing of 1.783 percent.

Yields for the 182-day short-dated debt papers likewise rose by 39.7 basis points to 2.608 percent. On the other hand, offers for the 364-day averaged at 2.811 percent, rising by 20.5 basis points.

By tenor, bids for the three-month, six-month and full-year securities totaled P18.673 billion, P6.38 billion and P7.71 billion, respectively.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said rates continue to increase amid inflation concerns.

“Rates sustained upward adjustments with inflation forecast from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas exceeding six percent,” De Leon told reporters in a Viber message.

The central bank said headline inflation likely jumped to a range of 5.7 percent to 6.5 percent in June from the three-and-a-half-year high of 5.4 percent in May. The Philippine Statistics Authority will release inflation data today.

De Leon said the market is looking at the BSP to deliver a “harder rate punch” to quash rising inflation.

The BSP already delivered a back-to-back rate hike of 25 basis points in May and June.

De Leon said rates are aligned with secondary markets, thus the full award. The Treasury last fully awarded the P15 billion T-bills on April 25.

“There have been repricing already as secondary levels show following guidance from the BSP governor on inflation path,” she said.