By Boluwatife Oshadiya | August 17, 2026
Key Points
- Treasury bill benchmark yield rises 30 basis points week-on-week to 18.53%
- Investors subscribe ₦4.41 trillion for ₦700 billion Treasury bill offer
- 364-day bill stop rate climbs 24 basis points to 17.59% ahead of inflation data
Main Story
Nigerian Treasury bill yields rose last week as fixed-income investors repositioned portfolios ahead of the latest inflation data and fresh primary market supply.
The secondary Treasury bill market closed with a bearish bias, with yields rising across short-, medium- and long-term maturities. The average benchmark yield increased by 30 basis points week-on-week to 18.53%.
Investor positioning was influenced by expectations surrounding the inflation report and recent developments in the primary market. Analysts expect headline inflation to moderate further, citing macroeconomic changes including exchange-rate stability.
At the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Treasury bill auction, investors submitted ₦4.414 trillion in subscriptions for ₦700 billion offered across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors. Total allotments reached ₦1.46 trillion, more than twice the initial offer.
Demand was strongest for the 364-day instrument, which attracted ₦4.19 trillion in subscriptions and received ₦1.26 trillion in allotments. Its stop rate consequently increased by 24 basis points to 17.59%.
The stop rates for the 91-day and 182-day bills remained unchanged at 16.30% and 16.50%, respectively.
Trading data showed yields increased by eight basis points in the short segment, 55 basis points in the mid segment and 45 basis points in the long segment on Friday.
The strong demand for the longer-dated bill indicates continued investor appetite for higher-duration instruments, although the increased stop rate suggests investors are demanding additional compensation for duration and reinvestment risks.
Activity in the Open Market Operations (OMO) bills segment also improved following the CBN’s revised participation framework.
What’s Being Said
Market participants are positioning around the inflation outlook, while the strong subscription levels at the Treasury bill auction point to sustained demand for Nigerian government securities. Analysts cited in the market report expect inflation to moderate further, partly supported by exchange-rate stability.
What’s Next
The release of the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is expected to provide a clearer direction for fixed-income investors.
Investors will also monitor pricing at subsequent Treasury bill auctions to assess whether the repricing seen in the 364-day tenor will extend across the curve.
Bottom Line
The Bottom Line: Nigerian fixed-income investors remain willing to commit substantial funds to Treasury bills, but the rise in longer-tenor yields shows that demand is increasingly being matched by higher return expectations. The inflation print will be important in determining whether the recent upward repricing becomes a broader market trend.
