Muscat: The total issuance of Government Treasury Bills has reached RO 43 million, with the value of the allotted Treasury bills amounting to RO 32 million for a 91-day maturity period. The average accepted price for these bills was RO 99.042 per RO 100, while the minimum accepted price was RO 99.035 per RO 100. The average discount rate and average yield were 3.84240% and 3.87957%, respectively.

According to Oman News Agency, an additional RO 11 million worth of Treasury bills was allotted for a maturity period of 182 days. The average accepted price for these bills stood at RO 98.070 per RO 100, with the minimum accepted price at RO 98.065 per RO 100. The average discount rate and yield for this batch were recorded at 3.86969% and 3.94583%, respectively.

Treasury Bills, which are short-term and highly secure financial instruments, are issued by the Ministry of Finance. They offer licensed commercial banks the opportunity to invest their surplus funds. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) serves as the Issue Manager, providing added liquidity through discounting and repurchase facilities (Repo).

The interest rate on the Repo operations with CBO is set at 4.25%, while the discount rate on the Treasury Bills Discounting Facility with CBO is 4.75%. Treasury Bills also play a crucial role in promoting the local money market by establishing a benchmark yield curve for short-term interest rates. Moreover, the Government may use these instruments to finance its recurrent expenditures when necessary.