The Bureau of the Treasury successfully raised P15 billion from the auction of Treasury bills (T-bills) as yields declined after 11 consecutive weeks of increase.

The national government on Monday, March 11, made a full award of all its short-term debt papers as demands totaled P50.708 billion, more than threefold the offer.

The Treasury made a full P5-billion award of the 91-day T-bills as tenders for the tenor reached P13.555 billion.

The three-month paper was quoted at an average rate of 5.772 percent, above the 5.778 percent in the previous auction last week.

The government also raised the programmed P5 billion for the 182-day short-term loans. Tenders for the security amounted to P17.631 billion.

The six-month T-bills’ average rate decreased to 5.966 percent, lower than the previous auction’s 5.995 percent.

As for the 364-day T-bills, the average rate settled at 6.087 percent, down from 6.100 percent in the last auction. Tenders submitted for the debt paper stood at P19.522 billion, more than three times the P5-billion offer which was fully awarded.

At the second market, meanwhile, the average rates for the 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills were higher at 5.765 percent, 5.975 percent, and 6.105 percent, based on Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rate.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said that yields on short-term debt papers may be due to possible Fed rate cuts later this year with higher odds of Fed rate cuts over the past two weeks.

This month alone, the national government aims to raise P180 billion from the sale of debt papers. The amount covers P60 billion worth of T-bills and P120 billion in treasury bonds.

For the whole year, the government is set to borrow a total of P2.46 trillion, of which 75 percent will be sourced locally while the remaining 25 percent will come from foreign sources.