Gov’t partially awards P14B in T-bills amid COVID-19 fears

On Monday, March 16, 2020, the government partially awarded P14 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills) out of a planned P20 billion offering due to market uncertainty over the COVID-19 outbreak.

Investors showed no interest in three-month T-bills but fully subscribed to six-month papers.

Total tenders for Monday's auction reached P42.28 billion, with rates for 182-day T-bills averaging 3.398%, a slight decrease from the previous week.

Rates of government securities are expected to drop this week due to strong demand for safe assets amid ongoing pandemic uncertainties.