As Nigeria’s debt market gears up for a fresh auction, Treasury bill yields dipped to an average of 20.6%, driven by strong demand and robust liquidity, according to trading data from the secondary market.
Afrinvest Limited reported a bullish tone across the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) space last week, with investors showing keen interest in the new 1-year maturity paper dated June 4, 2026. The paper began the week with aggressive buying interest but later moderated due to price resistance.
Investors also showed heightened appetite for the 04-Sep-25 and 04-Dec-25 tenors, resulting in yield contractions of 29 and 32 basis points, respectively. Overall, the average benchmark yield fell by 30bps week-on-week, settling at 20.58%.
The sustained demand has been attributed to investor strategies aimed at locking in attractive returns ahead of the upcoming auction. Traders observed that the 1-year bill traded as low as 18.60% during the week before stabilizing around the 19.10%/18.85% range.
Analysts remain optimistic about the fixed-income market outlook, citing favorable system liquidity and investor rotation toward safer instruments amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), representing the Central Bank of Nigeria, will be conducting the next Primary Market Auction (PMA) this week. A total of ₦162.01 billion will be offered across 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day maturities, with ₦27.1 billion in bills set to mature.
With market sentiment leaning positive and yield-seeking behavior prevailing, analysts expect the NTB market to remain active in the short term, especially with looming inflation data and exchange rate fluctuations adding to investment risks.
