Govt raises Rs252.92bn in T-bills auction, falling short of Rs300bn target

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) sold Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) totaling Rs252.92 billion in a recent auction, missing its target of Rs300 billion. 

With maturities of 3, 6, and 12 months, T-bills fetched yields of 21.6601%, 21.3849%, and 20.8990%, respectively, showing stability from the last auction.

Bids received amounted to Rs890.18 billion, with the central bank accepting only Rs252.92 billion. 

Specifically, the SBP accepted Rs45.06 billion for the 3-month bills, Rs7.73 billion for the 6-month bills, and Rs137.47 billion for the 12-month bills. An additional Rs62.65 billion was accepted from non-competitive bids.

The bid-to-cover ratio, indicating demand, was 3.52, up from 1.78 in the previous auction, translating to the SBP accepting about 28.41% of the total bids. 

This contrasts with the last auction on April 17, 2024, where the SBP sold MTBs worth Rs538 billion, surpassing the Rs525 billion target.

PIB-PFL auction

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also sold Pakistan Investment Bonds – Floating Rate (PIB-PFL) worth Rs193.546 billion in a semiannual auction for 5 and 10 years, falling short of its Rs280 billion target. 

The auction saw the 5-year PIB-PFL cut-off price at Rs95.9152 and the 10-year at Rs93.8371. 

SBP received bids totaling Rs357.5 billion for semiannual PIB-PFL and Rs1.895 billion for quarterly PIB-PFL, accepting only the semiannual bids.

The funds raised included Rs132.471 billion from 5-year bonds and Rs61.075 billion from 10-year bonds, totaling Rs193.546 billion. 

The settlement date for these bonds is set for May 02, 2024. 

The competitive bids raised Rs179.95 billion, supplemented by Rs13.596 billion through non-competitive bids.

The goal was to raise Rs160 billion from the sale of 5-year and 10-year semiannual PIBs, targeting Rs80 billion each. For quarterly PIB-PFL, the target was Rs60 billion from 2-year and 3-year bonds. 

In comparison, the previous auction on April 17, 2024, garnered Rs353.23 billion against a Rs220 billion target. 

The latest yields show a slight decrease in cut-off prices, following the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to maintain the policy rate at 22% for the seventh consecutive meeting.