The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, last week, offered six-and 12-month treasuries at yields higher than the country’s inflation rate to woo investors and attract dollar inflows.
The central bank sold a total of 204.96 billion naira ($650.67 mln) in bills at the auction on Wednesday. It paid 17.39 percent for the six-month bill and 18.54 percent for the one-year paper. The bank’s three-month bill fetched 13.42 percent.
The bank sold 145.96 billion naira of the 12-month bill, 26.60 billion naira of six-month paper and 32.40 billion naira of three-month paper.
Nigeria’s central bank issues treasury bills twice a month to finance the government’s budget deficit, help manage commercial lenders’ liquidity and curb rising inflation. ($1 = 315 naira).
Annual inflation eased to 16.1 percent in June. Most analysts expect the central bank to keep its key interest rate on hold next Tuesday at 14 percent.
