Muscat – The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has issued Government Treasury Bills totaling OMR37.60 million. The issuance includes two types of Treasury Bills with varying maturity periods and accepted prices.
The first batch, valued at OMR 5.4 million, carries a maturity period of 28 days. The average accepted price for these bills was OMR 99.708 for every OMR 100, with the minimum accepted price at OMR 99.705 per OMR 100. The average discount rate for these bills was 3.80%, while the average yield stood at 3.81%.
The second batch, amounting to OMR 32.2 million, has a maturity period of 91 days. The average accepted price for these bills was OMR98.974 for every OMR100, with the minimum accepted price at OMR 98.970 per OMR 100. These bills have a higher discount rate of 4.11% and an average yield of 4.16%.
Treasury Bills are short-term, low-risk financial instruments issued by the Ministry of Finance to allow licensed commercial banks to invest surplus funds. The CBO acts as the Issue Manager and provides added liquidity through discounting and repurchase (Repo) facilities. The current interest rate for Repo operations with the CBO is set at 5.00%, while the discount rate for Treasury Bill discounting is 5.50%.
These Treasury Bills contribute to the local money market by establishing a benchmark for short-term interest rates. Additionally, the Government may use this tool to finance recurrent expenditures as needed.