Investors in Nigeria’s Treasury Bills (NT-Bills) secondary market continued to book profits across the short, medium, and long ends of the curve, fueling a sell-off that pushed yields higher.
Data from CardinalStone Securities Limited revealed that yields advanced by 18 basis points at the short end, 1 basis point at the mid-segment, and 23 basis points at the long end of the curve. Consequently, the overall average yield rose to 18.81%, underscoring ongoing fragile sentiment and subdued investor confidence in the NT-Bills market.
Market dealers noted that there was mild buying interest in the 20-Aug NTB, quoted around 17.35%/17.10%, although stronger activity centered on OMO bills maturing on 18-Nov, 23-Dec, and 7-Apr. However, wide bid-ask spreads continued to dampen trading volumes, according to commentary from AIICO Capital Limited, which added that sessions are expected to maintain a similar pattern.
Analysts believe that yields could retreat in the near term, suggesting that the current bearish tone may be driven by banks strategically selling positions to take advantage of higher returns at the CBN’s OMO auctions.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has been offering attractive yields at its OMO bill sales, particularly to foreign portfolio investors and banks—the primary eligible participants. This has triggered portfolio adjustments as investors rotate assets to capture more lucrative returns, amid mixed expectations over monetary easing and ongoing disinflation trends.
Fresh figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show Nigeria’s headline inflation slowed slightly to 21.88% in July 2025 from 22.22% in June. However, month-on-month inflation accelerated to 1.99% in July, compared to 1.68% in the previous month, highlighting that consumer prices are still rising at a faster pace despite the marginal drop in headline inflation.
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