RBI conducts successful treasury bill auction worth Rs 21,000 crore

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has successfully conducted the weekly auction of Treasury Bills (T-Bills) on Wednesday, mobilising a total of Rs 21,000 crore through the sale of 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day instruments.

The auction witnessed robust demand from market participants, with total bids across the three maturities exceeding Rs 82,000 crore, against offer of Rs 21,000 crore, underscoring continued investor appetite for short-term government securities.

According to the data released by the RBI, the central bank received competitive bids worth Rs 25,879.30 crore for the 91-day T-Bills against a notified amount of Rs 10,000 crore. Out of this, 54 bids amounting to Rs 9,976.47 crore were accepted. The cut-off price was fixed at Rs 98.6723, translating into a yield of 5.3970 per cent. The weighted average yield (WAY) for this tenure stood at 5.3859 per cent.

For the 182-day T-Bills, the notified amount was Rs 6,000 crore. The auction attracted bids worth Rs 30,191.50 crore. However, only 26 bids totalling Rs 5,992.57 crore were accepted. The cut-off price for these bills was Rs 97.3210, with a corresponding yield of 5.5206 per cent. The weighted average yield was slightly lower at 5.5177 per cent.

In the case of 364-day T-Bills, the RBI had offered Rs 5,000 crore. The auction drew Rs 26,370 crore in competitive bids. The central bank accepted 32 bids worth Rs 4,988.96 crore. The cut-off price was set at Rs 94.7400, yielding 5.5673 per cent. The weighted average yield came in at 5.5597 per cent.

Partial allotments were made in select competitive bids. Specifically, two bids in the 91-day category were partially allotted at 43 per cent, while in the 182-day and 364-day segments, partial allotments were made to two and one bids respectively, at allotment percentages of 15.63 per cent and 27.79 per cent.

The RBI also accepted non-competitive bids across all three tenures. For the 91-day T-Bills, six non-competitive bids amounting to Rs 16,273.53 crore were accepted in full. In the 182-day and 364-day segments, three bids each were accepted, amounting to Rs 1,007.43 crore and Rs 163.98 crore respectively. There was no partial allotment under the non-competitive category.

The auction was conducted as part of the government’s regular borrowing programme to manage its short-term funding needs. The RBI, acting as the government’s debt manager, conducts these auctions on a weekly basis. (ANI)