By Joann Villanueva (PNA)
MANILA — The rate of Philippine Treasury bills (T-bills) continued to rise across-the-board Monday, even as National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon noted that the upward momentum has decelerated relative to past weeks on expectations that inflation has peaked.
The average rate of the 91-day T-bill rose 9.5 basis points to 5.172 percent, from 5.077 percent during the auction last November 5.
It was offered for PHP4 billion and banks submitted a total of PHP6.86 billion tenders. The auction committee made a full award.
The rate of the 182-day paper rose 1.20 basis points to 6.245 percent from the previous week auction’s 6.233 percent.
This tenor attracted bids that are more than twice the PHP5 billion offering after tenders reached PHP10.278 billion. This facility was fully awarded.
Also, the rate of the 364-day paper went up by 1.50 basis points to 6.521 percent, from 6.506 percent during the auction last November 5.
Banks submitted a total of PHP11.503 billion worth of bids, nearly twice the PHP6 billion offering. The auction committee also made a full award for this tenor.
De Leon told reporters after the auction that it was “a very healthy auction” and that rates have “plateaued” and are now comparable to those in the secondary market.
Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ (BAP) website showed that the rate of the three-month securities in the secondary market on Monday morning stood at 5.211 percent, the six-month securities, 5.647 percent; and the one-year paper, 5.872 percent.
“This just shows that for the market they see (that) inflation has really already flattened,” she said.
Inflation in October 2018 remains at 6.7 percent, unchanged from the previous month’s level due to decreased price pressures on heavily-weighted food, non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco indices.
Authorities have partly attributed the apparent stabilization in prices to government measures seeking to increase the supply of rice and other food items, which have been in effect since last September.
Inflation on these items are the main culprits behind the elevated domestic inflation, triggered by supply constraints and increased global oil prices, respectively.
