March 13, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1429

KARACHI, March 12: The cut-off yield on benchmark 6-month bills rose at an auction on Wednesday to 9.8686 per cent from 9.8024 per cent, the central bank said.

The weighted average annual yield on the 6-month paper came at 9.8223 per cent, up from 9.7359 per cent at the last auction on February 27, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

The cut-off yield on the 12-month paper came at 10.1357 per cent, up from 10.0385 per cent and the average weighted yield rose to 10.0777 per cent from 9.9908 per cent at the last auction.

The cut-off yield on the 3-month paper came at 9.5475 per cent, up from 9.4568 per cent in the previous auction and the average weighted yield rose to 9.5475 per cent from 9.4568 previously.

“The auction result was according to market expectations as rates were expected to rise and the target was met,” said a brokerage dealer.

The central bank said it sold Rs7.77 billion worth of 6-month, Rs20 billion of 12-month and Rs489.32 million of 3-month paper, after receiving total bids of Rs33.51 billion.

It had set a pre-combined auction target of Rs30 billion. Settlement of the auction will take place on Thursday.—Reuters