By BizWatch Nigeria
Key Points
- CBN offered ₦700 billion across standard Treasury bills maturities
- Total subscriptions surged to ₦2.41 trillion
- One-year Treasury bills attracted strongest investor demand
- Spot rates declined across all tenors
- Debt office allotted about ₦732 billion and rejected excess bids
Main Story
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued its downward repricing of Nigerian Treasury bills at Wednesday’s primary market auction, as strong investor demand prompted lower stop rates across standard maturities.
At the auction conducted by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the apex bank, ₦700 billion was offered across the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills tenors.
Auction results showed that aggregate subscriptions climbed sharply to ₦2.411 trillion, underscoring sustained investor appetite for government securities amid high system liquidity and limited alternative investment opportunities.
Demand remained heavily concentrated on the one-year instrument, which attracted subscriptions worth ₦2.235 trillion against the ₦550 billion offered by the authorities.
The CBN eventually allotted ₦600.49 billion worth of the 364-day bills to investors despite the substantial oversubscription.
Meanwhile, the 182-day Treasury bills recorded subscriptions of ₦105.33 billion compared to the ₦50 billion initially offered. The debt office allotted ₦67.68 billion on the tenor.
Investor interest remained relatively weaker at the short end of the curve, as the 91-day Treasury bills attracted ₦71.23 billion in subscriptions against the ₦100 billion offer size.
The apex bank allotted ₦63.58 billion to investors seeking exposure to short-term government instruments.
Stop rates across all maturities were slightly reduced, extending the CBN’s gradual effort to lower domestic borrowing costs.
The stop rate on the 91-day Treasury bills declined marginally to 15.949% from 15.95%.
Similarly, the 182-day instrument cleared at 16.14%, down from the previous 16.19%, while the one-year Treasury bills were priced at 16.15%, compared to 16.199% at the preceding auction.
In total, the DMO raised approximately ₦732 billion from the auction while rejecting a substantial portion of excess bids submitted by investors.
The sustained demand for longer-dated securities reflects continued investor preference for locking in yields amid expectations that rates may moderate further in the coming months.
What’s Being Said
Fixed-income analysts said the auction results indicate that investors remain highly liquid and are aggressively positioning in sovereign debt instruments viewed as relatively safe and attractive.
The persistent oversubscription, especially at the long end of the curve, also suggests expectations that yields may continue trending lower if inflation moderates and monetary tightening eases.
What’s Next
Analysts expect the CBN to continue carefully balancing liquidity management with efforts to moderate borrowing costs and support economic growth.
Market participants will also monitor inflation trends, monetary policy signals, and liquidity conditions for further direction on Treasury bills yields in the coming weeks.
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