THUR APRIL 09 2026-theGBJournal| The overnight lending rate held steady at 22.3 per cent despite a decline in system liquidity to N6.62 trillion, following a significant NTB PMA debit of N731.38 billion.
The liquidity squeeze reflects ongoing funding pressures in the money market, even as rates remained largely stable.
In the Treasury bills secondary market, bullish sentiment prevailed as average yields declined by 14 basis points to 17.4 per cent.
Across the curve, yields contracted at the short (-1bp), mid (-31bps), and long (-12bps) segments, driven by strong demand for the 79-day (-1bp), 163-day (-43bps), and 184-day (-56bps) instruments.
Similarly, the OMO segment recorded a slight easing, with average yield dipping by 1 basis point to 20.3 per cent.
At yesterday’s NTB primary market auction, the Debt Management Office (DMO) offered N700.00 billion across tenors, with total demand reaching N2.96 trillion, translating to a bid-to-offer ratio of 4.2x.
The DMO ultimately allotted N731.37 billion, implying a bid-to-cover ratio of 4.0x. Stop rates were unchanged at 15.95% for the 91-day tenor, while the 182-day and 364-day tenors declined by 23bps to 16.19% and 16.20%, respectively
Meanwhile, the FGN bond secondary market traded on a relatively quiet note with a mild bearish bias, as average yields edged up by 1 basis point to 15.6 per cent.
The uptick was driven by profit-taking at the short end of the curve (+3bps), particularly on the FEB-2031 bond(+13bps), while yields at the mid and long tenors remained largely unchanged.
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