The Marcos administration was able to borrow more than planned during its auction on Monday, July 15, despite interest rates rising anew.

The Bureau of the Treasury increased the size of its offering for 182-day Treasury bills (T-bills) to P9.1 billion, raising a total of P22.6 billion compared to its initial program of P20 billion.

Total bids reached P43.815 billion, slightly higher than the previous week’s P43.025 billion but more than twice the total offering of P22.6 billion that was fully awarded.

Broken down, the Treasury awarded P6.5 billion for the 91-day T-bill, reaching P15.5 billion tenders.

The rate for the three-month T-bills rose to 5.717 percent from 5.698 percent during last week’s auction.

For the 182-day, the Treasury sold all the P9.1 billion worth of IOUs on sale.

The rates for the six-month T-bill also increased to 5.978 percent from 5.968 percent previously. Total tenders amounted to P17.53  billion, around two times larger than the P9.1 billion on offer.

Moreover, the 364-day T-bill rate slightly declined from 6.073 percent to 6.072 percent. The government accepted all P7 billion on offer as demand reached P13.70 billion.

Before Monday's auction, the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates showed that the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day T-bills stood at 5.685 percent, 5.984 percent, and 6.048 percent, respectively, in the secondary market.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said mixed results may be due to the two-month high in oil prices, which led to the fourth straight week of local fuel pump price hikes.

He also attributed the P35 increase in the minimum wage in Metro Manila, though he noted that it may be offset by the 15 percent tariff cut on imported rice and the slower-than-expected 3.7 percent inflation in June.