T-bill rates ease across all tenors
Yields on short-dated government securities declined across the board for the first time since the Middle East war had erupted in late February. This was as investors grew more optimistic following a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
With investors now lowering the risk premium, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) was able to raise more than programmed for the first time since March 9. It awarded P32.1 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills) versus the P30 billion offering.
The 91-day T-bill declined for a second straight week, after falling to 4.750 percent from 4.985 percent last week.
Meanwhile, 182-day paper declined to 4.882 percent from 5.080 percent previously.
The 364-day T-bill likewise eased to 5.168 percent from 5.204 percent in the prior auction. The yields for both tenors marked their first slide since March 2.
Auction results showed strong demand, with total bids reaching P99.4 billion, or about 3.3 times oversubscription.
However, the 182- and 364-day tenors were only partially awarded, unlike the fully awarded 91-day T-bills.
“Treasury bill average auction yields mostly corrected lower after rising for five straight weeks, following the two-week ceasefire on the war on Iran and the Middle East declared on April 7, 2026, even as the United States and Iran failed to reach an agreement in their talks last April 11,” said Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
Ricafort added that yields were also pulled lower by the decline in global crude oil prices, which triggered some rollback in domestic fuel pump prices. This is also seen to help ease inflation in April.
Still, the ceasefire remains fragile after the US and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end the war following 21 hours of direct talks in Pakistan last week.
