Finance Ministry Places OFZ Worth 1 Trillion Rubles in Historic Single-Auction Record
Russia's Finance Ministry on December 4, 2024 placed floating-rate federal loan bonds (OFZ-PK) of series 29026, maturing in September 2038, in the amount of 1 trillion rubles at face value against demand of 1.589 trillion rubles. The weighted average price of the placement was 93.5201% of face value, and the proceeds totaled 935.761 billion rubles.
A historic record for a single auction
The December placement volume set a historic record for a single government bond auction. The previous maximum was held by the issue placed on November 16, 2022, when investors bought bonds worth 750 billion rubles against demand of 904.365 billion rubles. The December 2024 record surpassed the earlier achievement both in placed volume and in the demand collected. The course of the record auction is described by Interfax.
Taking into account the first auction held on the same day, the Finance Ministry placed government bonds worth 1,027.956 billion rubles. This is a record figure for a single auction day.
Parameters of the record issue
Results of the December 4, 2024 auction
- series — OFZ-PK 29026, floating-rate federal loan bonds (OFZ);
- maturity — September 2038;
- face-value placement volume — 1 trillion rubles;
- investor demand — 1.589 trillion rubles;
- weighted average price — 93.5201% of face value;
- proceeds from the placement — 935.761 billion rubles.
The previous record and the auction-day total
A comparison of the two record auctions and of the combined total for the auction day of December 4, 2024 reads as follows:
- November 16, 2022: issue 29022 placed for 750 billion rubles against demand of 904.365 billion rubles;
- December 4, 2024: OFZ-PK 29026 placed for 1 trillion rubles at face value against demand of 1.589 trillion rubles;
- December 4, 2024 including the first auction of the same day: 1,027.956 billion rubles placed in total.
Full-year 2024 results: the proceeds plan exceeded
After the record auction, the full-year borrowing picture took shape by the end of the year. As of December 25, 2024, over twelve months the Finance Ministry placed OFZ worth 4.37 trillion rubles at face value, with proceeds of 4.002 trillion rubles against a plan of 3.921 trillion rubles. The annual placement results are summarized by Interfax.
The fourth quarter made the main contribution to the annual result: it accounted for about 54% of the annual placement volume, or 2.361 trillion rubles. Over the nine months of the year, 2.009 trillion rubles were placed.
What the record means for the OFZ market
The auction of December 4, 2024 demonstrated the depth of investor demand for government bonds: the 1 trillion rubles offered at face value attracted 1.589 trillion rubles of investor bids. The single-auction record and the auction-day record came together on one day, while the annual placement proceeds of 4.002 trillion rubles exceeded the planned figure of 3.921 trillion rubles.
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