Gov’t accepts higher T-bond rates, raises P30B
The Marcos administration was still able to raise on Tuesday its target amount from seven-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) even as local rates tracked the higher US Treasury yields ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump.
Auction results showed the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) was able to borrow P30 billion via reissued T-bonds, which had a remaining life of seven years and eight months.
The T-bonds were met with strong demand. The BTr said total orders amounted to P54.2 billion, exceeding the original size of the offering by 1.8 times.
But that was not enough to bring down borrowing costs. The BTr said the T-bonds fetched an average rate of 6.249 percent, costlier than the 5.69 percent recorded in the last auction of the same issue nearly three months ago.
The average rate was also higher than the 6.158 percent quoted for the seven-year debt papers in the secondary market yesterday.
“The seven-year T-bond average auction yield was higher largely due to higher US Treasury yields due to possible protectionist measures by US president-elect Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2024,” Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a commentary.
For 2025, the Marcos administration is targeting to borrow a total of P2.55 trillion from creditors at home and abroad to plug a projected budget gap amounting to P1.54 trillion, which is equivalent to 5.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
As for sources of financing, the government intends to borrow P507.41 billion from foreign investors in 2025.
The remaining P2.04 trillion is targeted to be raised domestically, of which P60 billion will be via short-dated Treasury bills and P1.98 trillion via T-bonds.
All of this, in turn, is expected to push the government’s outstanding debt to P17.35 trillion by the end of 2025.
