MUSCAT: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) announced the allocation of government treasury bills worth RO 30 million for this week. The bills are divided across three maturity periods: 28 days, 91 days, and 182 days.
For the 28-day maturity, the allocation amounted to RO 5.3 million, with an average accepted price of RO 99.654 per RO 100. The lowest accepted price was RO 99.640, resulting in an average discount rate of 4.50839% and an average return of 4.52404%.
The 91-day maturity bills were allocated RO 2 million, with an average accepted price of RO 98.770. The lowest accepted price matched the average, at RO 98.770 per RO 100. The average discount rate stood at 4.93352%, and the average return was 4.99495%.
The largest allocation, RO 22.7 million, went to the 182-day maturity bills. These had an average accepted price of RO 97.584, with the lowest accepted price at RO 97.565 per RO 100. The average discount rate was 4.84583%, and the average return reached 5.96582%.
According to the CBO, the interest rate for repurchase (repo) operations on these treasury bills is 6.00%, while the discount rate on treasury bill facilities is 6.50%.
Treasury bills are short-term financial instruments issued by the Ministry of Finance to provide secure investment options for licensed commercial banks. The CBO manages their issuance. These bills offer high liquidity, allowing banks to discount them or conduct repo operations with the Central Bank.
Additionally, commercial banks can engage in interbank repo transactions using treasury bills. This financial tool helps establish short-term interest rate benchmarks in the local market and provides the government with a flexible mechanism to finance its expenses. — ONA
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