WED JULY 08 2026-theGBJournal| The Debt Management Office (DMO) raised N1.06 trillion at its latest Treasury bills auction after demand almost tripled the amount on offer, reflecting investors’ continued preference for sovereign fixed-income securities despite rising yields on longer-dated short-term instruments.
The DMO offered N700 billion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturities but received total subscriptions of N2.03 trillion, translating to a bid-to-offer ratio of 2.9 times.
It ultimately allotted N1.06 trillion, representing a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.9 times, as it took advantage of robust investor demand to borrow above its initial target.
Demand remained overwhelmingly concentrated in the one-year Treasury bill, which attracted N1.86 trillion in subscriptions—more than 91% of total bids—against an offer of N500 billion.
The DMO allotted N935.32 billion for the 364-day tenor, accounting for the bulk of the total issuance.
The 91-day bill attracted subscriptions of N146.54 billion against an offer of N100 billion, with the DMO allotting N115.38 billion.
Demand for the six-month instrument was comparatively weak, with investors submitting only N29.94 billion in bids for the N100 billion on offer, resulting in an allotment of N13.76 billion.
The strong demand for the one-year security pushed its stop rate higher by 36 basis points to 17.70% from 17.34% at the previous auction, marking the largest increase across the curve.
The stop rate on the 91-day bill edged up by 2 basis points to 16.30% from 16.28%, while the 182-day tenor was unchanged at 16.50%.
Investors submitted bids ranging between 16.55% and 20.32% for the 364-day bill, compared with ranges of 15.50% to 18.00% for the 91-day instrument and 15.75% to 17.30% for the 182-day paper.
Compared with prevailing secondary market levels, the auction cleared at higher yields for the one-year and three-month instruments. The 364-day stop rate settled 45 basis points above the previous secondary market yield of 17.25%, while the 91-day bill cleared 10 basis points above its secondary market yield of 16.20%.
In contrast, the 182-day stop rate came in 25 basis points below the prevailing secondary market level of 16.75%.
Despite the higher stop rates at the primary auction, trading in the secondary Treasury bills market remained bullish. Average yields declined by four basis points to 18.5% as investors accumulated existing securities across the curve.
The rally was broad-based, with average yields falling by one basis point at the short end, two basis points in the mid-tenor segment and six basis points at the long end.
Buying interest was concentrated in the 92-day, 155-day and 183-day-to-maturity bills, where yields declined by 1 basis point, 14 basis points and 33 basis points, respectively.
The Open Market Operations (OMO) segment also strengthened, with the average yield easing by one basis point to 21.6%, signalling sustained demand for high-yielding short-term government securities amid expectations that domestic liquidity will remain supportive.
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