FRI SEPT 18 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s money and fixed-income markets turned bearish on Thursday as tighter system liquidity pushed overnight funding costs higher and prompted investors to sell longer-dated Treasury bills and government bonds.
The overnight lending rate rose 11 basis points to 22.3%, in the absence of significant liquidity inflows.
System liquidity had fallen sharply to about 2.03 trillion naira from 5.89 trillion naira the previous day, following central bank liquidity drainage through open-market operations, according to AIICO Capital.
In the Treasury bills secondary market, the average yield rose 5 basis points to 18.8%, signalling weaker demand and higher required returns.
The short end was relatively resilient, with average yields falling 1 basis point on demand for the 91-day bill.
But yields rose 4 basis points at the mid segment and 10 basis points at the long end, driven by selling in the 182-day and 315-day bills, whose yields jumped 56 and 46 basis points, respectively.
The bearish tone was also evident in the Open Market Operations segment, where average yields rose 9 basis points to 20.2%.
FGN bonds came under heavier pressure, with the average yield rising 16 basis points to 16.4%.
Selling was concentrated at the short and long ends of the benchmark curve, where average yields increased 7 and 34 basis points, respectively.
The March 2027 and January 2042 bonds were particularly weak, with yields rising 56 and 135 basis points. The mid-curve was unchanged.
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