SAT AUG 29 2026-theGBJournal| The Treasury bills secondary market closed out the week on bearish note, with the average yield across all instruments rising by 10bps to 19.3%, as investors repositioned ahead of primary-market auctions during the week.
By segment, average Nigerian Treasury bill (NTB) secondary-market yields expanded by 35bps to 18.9%, reflecting investors’ unwinding of positions and a redirection of flows into Wednesday’s NTB Primary Market Auction (PMA).
In contrast, average Open Market Operations (OMO) secondary-market yields contracted by 44bps to 20.4%, as excess demand from the OMO PMA filtered into the secondary market.
At Wednesday’s NTB PMA, the Debt Management Office (DMO) offered N700.00 billion across the three tenors, attracting total demand of N3.79 trillion.
The DMO ultimately allotted N762.89 billion. Stop rates declined by 44bps to 17.15% for the 364-day tenor, while rates on the 91-day and 182-day bills remained unchanged at 16.30% and 16.50%, respectively.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also conducted two OMO PMAs during the week. At the first auction on Wednesday, the CBN offered N600.00 billion in bills, attracting N4.26 trillion in demand and ultimately allotting NGN2.80 trillion.
Stop rates settled at 19.90% and 19.65% for the 97-day and 132-day tenors, respectively.
At Thursday’s auction, the CBN offered a further N500.00 billion, with demand rising to N4.36 trillion and total allotment reaching N1.93 trillion. Stop rates closed at 19.85% for the 96-day tenor and 19.32% for the 152-day tenor.
The strong demand at both OMO auctions highlights sustained investor appetite for short-dated CBN instruments, while the divergence between NTB and OMO secondary-market yields points to continued portfolio repositioning across the money-market curve.
Meanwhile, the FGN bond secondary market also traded on a bearish note, albeit with a relatively muted bearish undertone, as the average yield across instruments expanded by 2bps to 16.8%.
Investors maintained a cautious tone amid the two OMO auctions conducted during the week, which provided competing investment opportunities in the short-end of the fixed-income market.
Across the benchmark curve, the average yield contracted at the mid (-3bps) and long (-1bp) segments, driven by demand for the APR-2029 (-20bps) and JUN-2038 (-4bps) bonds, respectively.
Average yields expanded at the short (+22bps) end, largely reflecting selloffs in the MAR-2027 bond, whose yield rose by 181bps.
Risk: Elevated auction supply and continued investor preference for short-dated instruments could maintain pressure on NTB and FGN bond yields, particularly at the short end of the curve.
However, strong demand at the CBN’s OMO auctions and selective buying across the mid- and long-end of the FGN bond curve could provide some support to secondary-market pricing.
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