Muscat: The total issuance of Government Treasury Bills amounted to RO 27.80 million, with a significant share allocated to different maturity periods. Among these, Treasury bills valued at RO 0.3 million were allotted for a maturity period of 28 days. The average accepted price for these bills was RO 99.700 per RO 100, with both the average and minimum accepted prices aligning at this figure. The average discount rate was determined to be 3.91071%, while the average yield was 3.92248%.
According to Oman News Agency, another portion of the Treasury bills, valued at RO 27.50 million, was allotted for a maturity period of 91 days. Here, the average accepted price stood at RO 98.950 per RO 100, matching the minimum accepted price. The average discount rate and yield for these bills were noted to be 4.21154% and 4.25623%, respectively.
Treasury Bills, issued by the Ministry of Finance, serve as short-term highly secured financial instruments, presenting licensed commercial banks with the opportunity to invest surplus funds. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) fulfills the role of Issue Manager, offering the added advantage of liquidity through discounting and repurchase facilities (Repo).
The interest rate on Repo operations with the CBO is reported at 5.00%, while the discount rate on the Treasury Bills Discounting Facility is pegged at 5.50%. Treasury Bills play a crucial role in promoting the local money market by establishing a benchmark yield curve for short-term interest rates. The Government may utilize this instrument as needed for financing recurrent expenditures.