At the latest auction of 6-month T-bills held on 8 February, the average yield didn't change from the previous 24.69%. The Finance Minister placed KZT 512.9m (USD 6.03m), exceeding the planned volume by about KZT 113m. The auction witnessed a normal increase in the demand for 6-month papers from asset management companies at the beginning of the month. On the other hand, banks do not seem to be ready to return to this market yet. This is despite the fact that recently they have decreased considerably their operations on the currency market.

The traded volume of 3-month T-bills dropped sharply at the latest auction held on 9 February. The issuer raised only KZT 71.3m (USD 0.84m) of a planned volume of KZT 500m (USD 5.88m). Analysts noted that the decreased demand for these papers occurred despite a relatively stable Tenge/Dollar rate.

The Finance Ministry ended the 7^th calendar week of 1999 with a positive balance—it raised KZT 1,172.8m, with a planned volume of KZT 900m, and paid back KZT 684.8m. (IRBIS)