Doha, Qatar– Qatar Central Bank (QCB) issued treasury bills worth QR 1 billion ($274 million) for a one-week term in February, due on March 2, at an interest rate of 5.0050 percent.
QCB had issued treasury bills worth QR 3 billion for a one-week term in February. The auction is part of the policy for promoting issuances announced by the QCB on Sep. 21, 2022, QNA reported. Treasury bills are issued through auction for banks operating in Qatar.
Central banks usually aim, through the periodic monthly issuance of treasury bills or short-term Islamic sukuk in favor of local banks, to control liquidity rates and the money supply in the market.
In November last year, the bank issued Treasury Bills and Sukuk for periods of one week, one month, three, six and nine months worth QR 6 billion ($1.6 billion), and the auction attracted record bids totaling QR 9.75 billion.
Foreign reserves up
Qatar Central Bank’s (QCB) international reserves and foreign currencies liquidity increased last December by 9.6 percent on an annual basis, to reach $59.31, compared to $54 billion in the same period last year. December recorded a monthly growth of 2.7 percent compared to November 2022.
The figures issued by QBC showed an increase in the bank’s official international reserves standing at $44.31 billion by the end of last December, scoring a growth rate of 12.4 percent.