FRI AUG 28 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s fixed-income market maintained a bullish tone through Thursday, with yields trending lower across Treasury bills, OMO securities and Federal Government bonds (FGN Bonds) as demand for selected maturities strengthened.
The overnight lending rate contracted by 5bps to 22.1%, in the absence of any significant funding pressures on the financial system, pointing to relatively comfortable liquidity conditions as the week neared its close.
In the Treasury bill secondary market, trading remained bullish, with the average yield falling by 2bps to 18.9%.
The direction of yields through Thursday suggests that investors continued to show preference for selected government securities, pushing prices higher and yields lower.
Across the Treasury bill curve, the average yield contracted at the short end by 1bp, the mid segment by 1bp and the long end by 4bps.
The moves were driven by demand for the 84DTM (-1bp), 175DTM (-1bp) and 266DTM (-28bps) bills, respectively.
The sharp 28bps decline in the 266-day bill yield was the biggest move across the Treasury bill curve and points to particularly strong buying interest at the longer end.
The bullish trend was even stronger in the OMO segment, where the average yield contracted by 27bps to 20.4%.
Meanwhile, activity in the FGN bond secondary market was also bullish.
The average yield contracted by 4bps to 16.5%, extending the week’s downward direction in borrowing costs.
Across the bond curve, the average yield contracted by 13bps at the short end, driven by buying interest in the MAR-2027 bond, whose yield fell by 29bps.
Yields at the mid and long ends of the curve remained unchanged.
With yields generally moving lower through Thursday, the fixed-income market is positioned to end the week on a firm note if current demand is sustained into Friday.
The strongest support has come from selected Treasury bills and short-dated FGN bonds, while the absence of significant funding pressure has helped keep money-market conditions relatively stable.
Unless liquidity conditions tighten sharply or investors take profits ahead of the weekend, the prevailing bullish tone is likely to carry into the final trading session, leaving average yields broadly lower for the week.
The key indicators to watch on Friday will be demand for longer-dated Treasury bills, particularly after the steep decline in the 266DTM yield, and whether buying interest in short-dated FGN bonds continues.
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