The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BDP) fully awarded the short-term securities it offered on Friday on ample liquidity during the holiday season.
The central bank raised P80 million in 28-day debt paper as planned. The auction was more than 1.5 times oversubscribed as bids reached P141.25 billion.
This marked the 13th straight week that the central bank made a full award since it started selling its own securities in September.
“The sustained strong demand for the BSP deposit facilities amid the coming holidays supports the view that financial liquidity remains ample,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila, Jr. said in a statement. “Looking ahead, the BSP’s monetary operations will continue to be guided by its assessment of market developments and liquidity conditions.”
Rates sought ranged from 1.68% to 1.7%, lower than 1.69-1.71% at last week’s auction. The one-month bills fetched an average rate of 1.6921%, down 0.64 basis point from 1.6985%.
Total tenders were also bigger than P117.1 billion last week.
“Demand seems to be sustained as liquidity in the financial system remained at ample levels, and the facility continues to complement the term deposit facility to mop up the excess and investors looking for less interest rate risk,” Security Bank Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a Viber message. — Beatrice M. Laforga