MANILA, Philippines – The government made yesterday a partial award of three-year Treasury bonds in a bid to cap interest rates seen too high compared with prevailing market rates. A total P16.22 billion worth of re-issued three-year notes, with a remaining life of two years and seven months, was awarded by the Bureau of the Treasury at the auction yesterday. The paper fetched a rate of 3.169 percent. Tenders reached P36.17 billion as against the P25 billion offer. Had the government awarded the full amount, it would have paid a higher rate of 3.18 percent. The debt paper charged 3.089 percent during the previous auction. “We awarded it based on our internal guidelines which put the rate near the upper-end of our guidance. It is a little over our R2 (rate),” National Treasurer Roberto Tan told reporters after the auction. R2 pertains to the secondary market rates used by investors to trade with each other. The paper fetched 3.1 percent at this market yesterday. Treasury bonds are investment outlets issued by the government in exchange for borrowed money. Tan said the “uncertainty” coming from the looming interest rate hike of the US Federal Reserve still persists, “although there’s been a change in view” especially after the latter’s meeting last month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Investors seeking higher yields have been awaiting the US central bank to raise its rates for the first time since 2006 as the world’s superpower showed some recovery from the global Read More …