RATE UPTICKS ANEW. The average rate of Treasury bills (T-bills) increases again on Monday (Aug. 15, 2022). National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon traced this to expectations for another hike in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) key rates this week. (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The rates of Treasury bills (T-bills) rose on Monday ahead of the rate-setting meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Monetary Board (MB).
The average rate of the 91-day paper increased to 1.874 percent, the 182-day to 3.226 percent, and the 364-day to 3.712 percent.
These were at 1.850 percent, 3.211 percent, and 3.635 percent for the three-month, six-month, and one-year papers during the auction last Aug. 8.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) offered all tenors for PHP5 billion each and all were oversubscribed and fully awarded.
Total tenders for the three-month paper amounted to PHP14.61 billion while it reached PHP18.006 billion for the six-month paper and PHP7.916 billion for the one-year paper.
“Rates climbed on all tenors with markets expecting MB to raise rates this Thursday,” National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon told journalists in a Viber message.
Markets expect the Board to again hike the BSP’s key policy rates as domestic rate of price increases continue to accelerate, with the July 2022 figure rising to 6.4 percent, the highest since October 2018.
The MB has increased the BSP’s key rates by a total of 125 basis points so far this year.
“Similarly, (the) Fed (Federal Reserve) seems unswayed with (US’) softer July CPI (consumer price index) and (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell remains focused on 'vanquishing the foe',” de Leon added.
The US July 2022 inflation rate registered a slower rate of 8.5 percent from the 9.1 percent in the previous month, which is the highest since November 1981.
Fed officials said they continue to see the need to hike key policy rates as CPI remains elevated. (PNA)
