Local News

KARACHI: The government raised Rs274 billion on Wednesday through auctions of treasury bills that saw an increase of 39 basis points in the 12-month papers. The total amount borrowed was lower than the target of Rs300bn set by the government, while Rs197bn was set to mature. While the total bids were as high as Rs1.061 trillion, bulk of the amount was offered for the shortest tenor. The government raised Rs142.6bn for the three-month papers out of Rs778.7bn bids with the cut-off yield unchanged at 13.42 per cent. Another Rs1.7bn were raised against bids of Rs129.9bn for the six-month T-bills, again the cut-off yield static at 13.29pc. However, for the 12-month instrument, cut-off yield rose by 39bps to 13.52pc, possibly reflecting the perceived long-term stability in the key policy rate. Out of Rs152.3bn offered for this tenor, Rs130.2bn was raised.