THUR AUG 27 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s money and fixed-income markets maintained a broadly positive tone on Wednesday, with overnight funding costs and Treasury bill yields edging lower as the financial system faced no significant liquidity pressure.
The overnight lending rate declined by 1 basis point to 22.1%, reflecting relatively comfortable funding conditions in the banking system. The marginal move suggests that demand for short-term liquidity remained contained, limiting pressure on banks’ funding costs.
Treasury bills attract demand
The Treasury bill secondary market traded on a bullish note, with the average yield falling 2bps to 18.9% as investors increased demand across the curve.
Yields declined across all three maturity segments. The short end fell 2bps, the mid segment declined 4bps, while the long end eased 2bps.
Demand was particularly evident in the 85-day-to-maturity (DTM) bill, whose yield declined by 2bps. The 148DTM bill recorded the sharpest movement, with its yield falling 23bps, while the 253DTM bill yield declined 3bps.
The OMO bill market also strengthened, with the average yield contracting by 8bps to 20.7%.
FGN bonds edge higher
The FGN bond secondary market was quieter but retained a bullish bias, with the average yield declining by 1bp to 16.6%.
The movement was concentrated at the short and long ends of the benchmark curve. Average yields at the short end declined 3bps, while the long end eased 1bp. The mid segment was unchanged.
Demand for the February 2031 bond drove a 6bps decline in its yield, while the ARP-2037 bond recorded an 8bps yield contraction.
The divergent performance across maturities suggests that investors remain selective rather than engaging in broad-based positioning across the sovereign bond curve.
The overall tone of the market points to improving demand for Nigerian government securities against a backdrop of relatively stable money-market liquidity.
Furthermore, the Nigeria Eurobond market closed in green as positive sentiment was seen across the curve except the 28-Nov-2027.
Notwithstanding, short dated bonds still saw the steepest fall despite mixed trade in the segment. Overall, buying interest was broad based, pushing average yield lower slightly to close at 6.92% from 6.94%.
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