The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has disclosed that the total value of government treasury bills for this week stands at RO 64 million/ The treasury bills, issued by the Ministry of Finance, serve as guaranteed short-term financial instruments, providing investment avenues for licensed commercial banks. Acting as the issuance manager, the CBO facilitates the issuance of these bills.

The breakdown of allocations includes RO 16 million for a maturity period of 28 days and RO 48 million for a maturity period of 91 days. The bills issued for 28 days recorded an average acceptable price of RO 99.620, while those for 91 days averaged at RO 98.722. The discount rates and returns for the respective periods were also provided in the statement.

Moreover, the statement highlighted the interest rate on repurchase operations (repo) with the Central Bank of Oman, set at 6 per cent, and the discount rate on treasury bill facilities, set at 6.50 per cent.

These rates play a pivotal role in guiding short-term interest rates within the local financial market.

Treasury bills offer rapid liquidity through discounting with the Central Bank of Oman and conducting repo deals with the central bank. Additionally, licenced commercial banks can engage in repo operations among themselves in the interbank market.

This financial instrument provides flexibility for the government to finance expenditures seamlessly while contributing to shaping short-term interest rates in the market. – ONA