The Finance Ministry on Tuesday sold six-month treasury bills worth 230 million kuna (€30 million) at an interest rate of 0.1 percent, and one-year bills worth 546 million kuna (€73 million) at 0.2 percent interest, exceeding the initially offered 600 million kuna bills. Another €120 million of euro-denominated bills was also offered, but all the bids were rejected.

The purpose of the sale was re-financing debt, as some 264 million kuna and €160 are “falling due soon,” the state agency Hina said. Local banks submitted bids for 776 million kuna and €170 million, but the ministry accepted only the kuna-denominated bids.

The interest rates were unchanged from earlier auctions in August and September, which Hina attributed to the “high surplus of liquidity in the domestic financial system, of about 82 billion kuna (€11 billion).”

The balance of subscribed kuna-denominated treasury bills has now increased by 512 million kuna (€68 million) to total 13.35 billion kuna (€1.77 billion).

As for the bids for the euro-denominated treasury bills bids, the lowest interest rates offered by financial institutions were 1.29 percent for three-month bills, 1.94 percent for six-month bills, and 3.00 percent for one-year bills.

The last time the Finance Ministry issued euro-denominated treasury bills was in May this year, when the interest rate for one-year bills was -0.05 percent.

The balance of subscribed euro treasury bills has now decreased by the €160 million falling due, to total €17.5 million. The next auction is set for 15 November.

(€1 = 7.52 kuna)