The three-day muslim public holiday declared by the Federal Government from Tuesday July 5 , through to Thursday, July 7 is expected to cost the nation N138 billion as activities resume today, Friday, July 8.
This is so because, there were scheduled treasury bills auction estimated at N94 billion, as well as N44 billion treasury bills maturity for the week, which the unprecedented three-day break has stalled, the Guardian reports.
The monetary policy measures were expected put liquidity into the system in the week, with the auction component helping to taper its effect on money market rates.
The treasury bills auctions and maturities are usually executed between Tuesdays and Thursdays, save for seeming special interventions on Fridays.
In the event the monetary policy measures are implemented today, the effect in the market rates would be minimal and driven by sentiments because the liquidity will not have trickled down to the market and volumes of interbank activities are usually moderate.
A financial market operator, speaking with the Guardian, said:“So, the week just ran like a closed economy. It is as if everyone was just sleeping and not waking up at all. That is exactly how gains and losses and value addition to the economy also remained standstill. Friday’s transactions are usually cautious one due to speculations over the week ahead. The auctions on Friday will not make much meaning.”
Last week, the treasury bills market saw renewed buying interest with the launch of the Naira-settled Over-The-Counter market, as the average rate declined on all the trading days of the week.
