Govt raises Rs853bn via T-bills auction

KARACHI: The government raised Rs853 billion from the auction of Market Treasury Bills on Wednesday, marginally below the Rs900 billion target, the auction result released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

“In today’s T-bill auction, a huge participation of Rs2,992 billion was seen, with the government raising Rs853 billion as against the target of Rs900 billion and maturity of Rs980 billion,” said Topline Securities in a brief note.

The cut-off yield fell across all tenors, ranging from 1 to 25 basis points (bps). The one-month T-bill decreased by 1bp to 11.09 per cent. The three-month paper yield also declined by 10bps to 11.05 per cent.

The yield on the six-month T-bill was down 22bps at 10.97 per cent. The yield on the 12-month paper fell by 25bps to 10.95 per cent.

This month, the SBP lowered its benchmark interest rate by 100bps to 11 per cent, marking the continuation of a series of rate cuts that reduced the rate from a record high of 22 per cent after a brief hold in March.

The policy rate has fallen by 11 percentage points since June 2024.Markets and analysts are waiting to see what the SBP will decide on interest rates at its June 16 meeting.