THUR JULY 16 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s Treasury bills market recorded another strong outing at the latest primary market auction, with investor demand exceeding the amount on offer by more than five times as investors continued to lock in attractive short-term yields despite easing rates on longer-dated bills.
Robust demand enabled the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise almost double its initial offer, while the benchmark 364-day stop rate edged lower, underscoring sustained liquidity and confidence in government securities even as activity in the secondary market remained subdued.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) offered N600 billion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors at Wednesday’s Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction.
Total subscriptions climbed to N3.03 trillion, representing a 5.1-times bid-to-offer ratio, reflecting sustained appetite for sovereign short-term debt.
The DMO ultimately allotted N1.19 trillion, nearly twice the amount initially offered, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.5 times.
The stop rate on the benchmark 364-day bill declined by four basis points to 17.66%, indicating investors were willing to accept slightly lower returns amid strong demand.
Meanwhile, stop rates on the 91-day and 182-day instruments were left unchanged at 16.30% and 16.50%, respectively.
In the secondary Treasury bills market, trading was largely subdued, with the average yield holding steady at 18.4%.
Yield movements were mixed across the curve, as buying interest compressed yields at the short and long ends, while selective profit-taking pushed yields marginally higher in the mid-tenor segment.
Demand for the 50-day and 204-day bills drove yields lower by 4 basis points and 10 basis points, respectively, while selling pressure on the 176-day bill lifted its yield by 13 basis points.
The Open Market Operations (OMO) segment also attracted buying interest, with the average yield declining 4 basis points to 21.5%, suggesting investors continued to position for attractive returns in CBN instruments.
In the money market, the overnight lending rate rose 7 basis points to 22.2%, reflecting tighter liquidity conditions in the absence of significant inflows into the banking system.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government bond secondary market traded cautiously with a mildly bearish bias.
The average benchmark yield inched up 1 basis point to 17.4% as investors took profits on selected maturities.
Yields increased at both the short and long ends of the curve, led by the March 2027 and June 2053 bonds, while the mid-segment remained broadly unchanged.
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