TUE JUNE 09 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s fixed-income market opened the week on a weaker note, with yields rising across Treasury bills, Open Market Operations (OMO) instruments and Federal Government bonds as investors locked in recent gains amid tight system liquidity.
The overnight lending rate edged up by 2 basis points to 22.2%, reflecting persistent liquidity constraints in the banking system.
Market participants reported limited funding inflows during the session, leaving interbank rates elevated as financial institutions competed for available cash.
In the Treasury bill secondary market, bearish sentiment prevailed as investors took profits on select maturities, pushing the average yield higher by 5 basis points to 17.6%.
Yield movements were largely concentrated at the short and long ends of the curve. Average yields at the short end rose by 21 basis points, driven by selloffs in the 31-day bill, whose yield climbed 43 basis points.
The long end also weakened, with the average yield increasing by 2 basis points following profit-taking on the 185-day instrument, where yields rose 38 basis points.
Demand for select mid-tenor securities, however, helped moderate the broader market decline.
The 122-day Treasury bill attracted buying interest, causing its yield to decline by 28 basis points and contributing to a 3-basis-point contraction in average yields across the mid-segment of the curve.
The bearish trend extended to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s OMO market, where the average yield increased by 8 basis points to 21.0%, suggesting investors demanded higher returns amid expectations of sustained monetary tightening and elevated interest-rate conditions.
The Federal Government bond market experienced steeper losses, with average secondary-market yields rising by 32 basis points to 16.3%, marking one of the sharpest single-session increases in recent weeks.
Selling pressure was broad-based across the sovereign curve. At the short end, yields rose 33 basis points following investor exits from the April 2029 bond, whose yield jumped 61 basis points.
The mid-segment also came under pressure, with the April 2032 bond recording a 37-basis-point increase in yield, lifting average yields in that section of the curve by 10 basis points.
The most pronounced weakness emerged at the long end, where yields advanced by 44 basis points. The June 2038 bond led losses, with its yield surging 116 basis points as investors reduced exposure to longer-duration securities amid shifting rate expectations.
The rise in yields across fixed-income instruments highlights a cautious investor stance despite attractive nominal returns.
Market participants continue to assess the trajectory of liquidity conditions, inflation and monetary policy, while positioning ahead of future government and central bank debt issuances.
With interbank funding conditions remaining tight and profit-taking activity intensifying after recent bond market gains, yields may remain under upward pressure in the near term, particularly if liquidity injections fail to materialize or investor demand weakens at upcoming auctions.
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