WED JULY 29 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) raised N1.25 trillion at Wednesday’s Treasury bill auction after investors submitted N3.62 trillion in bids, extending a rally in the country’s short-term debt market and driving the benchmark one-year yield sharply lower.
The DMO had offered N700 billion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturities.
Total subscriptions reached more than five times the amount on offer, highlighting sustained appetite from banks and other institutional investors amid abundant system liquidity and expectations that yields have further room to decline.
The one-year Treasury bill stop rate fell 31 basis points to 17.35% from 17.66% at the previous auction, while the 91-day and 182-day stop rates were unchanged at 16.30% and 16.50%, respectively.
The latest auction attracted even stronger demand than the previous sale, with the bid-to-offer ratio rising to 5.2 times from just under three times previously.
The DMO again took advantage of the oversubscription by issuing well above its initial offer, a sign it is locking in funding while borrowing costs continue to ease.
The result reinforces a broader shift in Nigeria’s fixed-income market.
Treasury bill yields have been falling steadily in the secondary market as sizeable liquidity injections, including recent OMO maturities, have fuelled demand for government securities.
The G&B Journal’s analysts note that investors have increasingly chosen to secure prevailing yields before further declines, intensifying competition at primary auctions.
Meanwhile, the lower stop rate points to easing domestic financing costs despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) maintaining a tight monetary policy stance.
However, the rapid decline in yields suggests the window to lock in high risk-free returns is narrowing, likely increasing interest in longer-dated Federal Government bonds as they seek to preserve portfolio yields.
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