THUR OCT 08 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s fixed-income market delivered a split verdict on Wednesday as strong demand for Treasury bills at the primary auction collided with renewed selling pressure in the secondary market, underscoring growing sensitivity to liquidity and funding conditions.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) attracted N1.77 trillion in bids for N900 billion of Nigerian Treasury Bills, representing a 2.0x bid-to-offer ratio.
The strong demand allowed the DMO to allot N968.47 billion, taking the final bid-to-cover ratio to 1.8x.
But beneath the headline demand, investors remained selective.
The stop rate on the 364-day bill fell 4 basis points to 15.85%, while rates on the 91-day and 182-day bills held steady at 15.50% and 15.80%, respectively.
While investors competed aggressively for new government paper, the secondary Treasury-bill market turned bearish.
Average T-bill yields climbed 8 basis points to 17.9%, with selling pressure concentrated further along the curve. Mid-tenor yields rose by 3bps, while the long end jumped 20bps.
The sharpest move came on the 99-day-to-maturity bill, whose yield surged 300bps, while the 281-day bill rose 52bps.
At the short end, however, yields slipped marginally by 1bp, supported by demand for the 71-day bill.
The OMO market offered a contrasting picture, with average yields falling 16bps to 18.5%.
Bonds also under pressure
The bearish tone extended into the FGN bond market, where the average yield increased 10bps to 15.8%.
The mid-section of the benchmark curve bore the brunt of the selling, led by the March 2036 bond, whose yield jumped 48bps. Yields at the short and long ends were unchanged.
Adding to investor caution, the overnight lending rate climbed 11bps to 20.7%, as the banking system saw no significant inflows.
The combination of tighter overnight funding conditions and rising secondary-market yields points to a market increasingly focused not simply on demand for government securities, but on the cost and availability of liquidity.
Elsewhere, the Nigerian Eurobond market witnessed bearish weakening demand across the curve. With that, average yield accelerated by 11bps to close at 7.76% from 7.66%.
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