SBP Auctions Market Treasury Bills Worth Rs. 415.9 Billion

Pakistan government sold debt worth Rs. 415.9 billion through the auction of Market Treasury Bills (MTBs), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed.

These MTBs led to the six-month paper cut-off yield recording an uptick.

The three-month treasury bills cut-off yields decreased by one basis point (bps) to 7.1597 percent, while yields had clocked in at 7.1691 percent in the auction on January 13, as per SBP data.

The central bank sold Rs. 308.9 billion worth of the shortest tenor debt.

A statement by the SBP upon the issuance of these bills said that it sold Rs. 101.0 billion worth of six-month T-bills. The yield on this paper rose 29 bps to 7.4900 percent from 7.2000 percent.

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The cut-off yield on 12-month treasury bills stood at 7.7989 percent. The amount raised through the auction of this paper was Rs. 6 billion.

In this auction, investors showed greater interest in the three-month paper. Out of Rs. 789.3 billion, investors’ participation in this T-bill stood at Rs. 656.8 billion.

The central bank kept the policy rate intact at 7 percent last week. The SBP, for the first time, also provided forward guidance to facilitate policy predictability and decision-making by economic agents.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expects the policy settings to remain unchanged in the near term (at least for the next policy) till economic recovery becomes more durable and the economy returns to full capacity.