The Public Treasury has placed 1,980.39 million euros this Tuesday in three- and nine-month bills, in the expected average range, and has raised the remuneration of both references, offering 3.8% in the case of nine-month bills months, according to data from the Bank of Spain collected by Europa Press. The increase in profitability that the Treasury offers month by month means that investor demand far exceeds the amount placed in the markets and in the auction on Tuesday the requests have approached 5,000 million euros, more than double the awarded amount.
Specifically, the department under the Ministry of Economic Affairs has placed 459.32 million euros in three-month bills, in response to a demand of more than 1,800 million euros, and the marginal interest offered has stood at 3.531%, above the 3.263% of the previous auction and the highest percentage since November 2011.
Highest profitability in a decade
In the nine-month bills, the Treasury has awarded 1,521.07 million euros, below the 2,876 requested by investors, at a marginal return of 3,810%, also higher than the 3,490% offered in the previous issue of last 13 December. June and the highest level on record, taking into account that this reference was launched in February 2013.
The improvement in the interest rates offered, in line with the latest increases in interest rates by the ECB, has maintained the investor appetite of the markets for Spanish bonds. Private investors are showing great interest in buying debt, mainly in the short term, given its high profitability, which has been growing since the beginning of 2022, especially in the case of shorter-term bills.
All this in a context in which the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided two weeks ago to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, as the market consensus took for granted, so that the interest rate The reference rate for its refinancing operations has been 4%, while the deposit rate is 3.50% and the loan facility rate is 4.25%.
For its part, the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) unanimously maintained interest rates in the target range of between 5% and 5.25% after the ten increases undertaken since March 2022. But the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde recently warned that inflation in the area is excessively high and will remain so for too long, noting that “it is unlikely” that it will be possible to declare in the near future that the types of intense have touched Techni. After this auction, the Treasury will return to the debt markets on July 20, with an issue of government bonds and obligations, with which it will close the month of July.
Treasury targets for 2023
The gross issuance by the Public Treasury will be 256,930 million euros this year, which represents an increase of 8.2% compared to the estimate for 2022, due to the rise in interest rates. For its part, the net indebtedness of the Public Treasury in 2023 will remain at 70,000 million. Breaking down by type of instrument, the Treasury Bills are expected to provide net negative financing of 5,000 million, so the State bonds and obligations, together with the rest of the debts in euros and foreign currency, will contribute the remaining 75,000 million.
