THUR AUG 13 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s fixed-income market showed signs of caution on Wednesday after the Debt Management Office (DMO) raised a larger-than-offered N1.46 trillion at Tuesday’s Treasury-bill auction, with profit-taking pushing benchmark FGN bond yields higher even as demand for short-term bills kept Treasury-bill yields marginally lower.
The overnight lending rate was unchanged at 22.1%, signalling relatively stable short-term liquidity conditions.
In the Treasury-bill secondary market, the average yield eased 1 basis point to 18.1%, with yields declining across the short, mid and long segments as investors sought the 85-day, 176-day and 351-day bills.
OMO bill yields fell by a more pronounced 5 basis points to 21.3%.
The softer Treasury-bill yields came despite Tuesday’s auction, where the Debt Management Office raised N1.46 trillion, more than double the N700 billion initially offered, following demand of N4.41 trillion.
The strong demand and sizeable allotment underline continued investor appetite for government paper, particularly at the front end of the curve.
FGN bonds, however, told a different story.
The average secondary-market yield rose 1 basis point to 16.7%, with pressure concentrated around the middle and longer tenors. The June 2033 bond yield climbed 7 basis points, while the ARP 2037 rose 11 basis points, reflecting profit-taking.
An analyst said the contrasting moves suggest investors are rotating rather than exiting fixed income, with strong demand for shorter-dated securities following the auction while holders of longer-dated bonds take profits after recent price gains.
“The auction has reinforced demand for Treasury bills, but the weakness at the long end of the bond curve points to some caution,” the analyst said.
“Investors appear comfortable locking in yields at the front end, while longer-duration positions are being trimmed as they reassess the direction of rates and the returns available elsewhere.”
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