The average yield on the 99^th issue of 6-month T-bills was 24.39%. The auction, which was held on 18 January 1999, was oversubscribed and the Finance Ministry managed to place what it planned—KZT 500m (USD 5.92m).

The next day's auction of 3-month T-bills was also oversubscribed. The Finance Minister raised KZT 925.3m (USD 10.95m), exceeding its target by KZT 225.3m.

The results of the recent auction may imply that, for the time being, banks have become "saturated" with Dollars. Besides, the average yields on short-term papers have grown over the past six weeks while the Tenge devaluation rate remained unchanged. These circumstances made banks more interested in 3-month T-bills.

In total, on the fourth calendar week, the Finance Ministry raised KZT 1,425.3m (USD 16.87m) with a planned placement of KZT 1.2bn and a repayment volume of KZT 1,922.4m. (IRBIS)