DOHA: Qatar Central Bank will continue draining the same amount from the money market through monthly Treasury bill auctions despite a recent drop in demand for them, its governor said on Tuesday.
Geopolitical tensions over Syria and the possibility of a U.S. military strike against Damascus have caused onshore liquidity in Qatar to tighten in the last several weeks, and the last two T-bill offers were barely subscribed.
Asked on Tuesday whether the central bank would keep draining 4 billion riyals or $1.1 billion a month, Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani said: "It is maintaining."
He also said Tuesday's auction of riyal government bonds had been fully subscribed.
"I just got a message to say it is oversubscribed, which is good news that liquidity is still going on," he told reporters on the sidelines of a banking conference in Qatar's capital.
The central bank offered a total 4 billion riyals in three- and five-year local currency government bonds and sukuk on Tuesday in a quarterly issue which it allocates directly to banks. (Reuters)
