Nigeria Yields Hold Firm as Investors Pivot to OMO Bills Auction
Trading in Nigeria’s Open Market Operation (OMO) and Treasury bills segments was subdued in the secondary market on Tuesday as investors focused on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) OMO auction.
The average yield on Treasury bills closed flat at 17.88%. An auction announcement issued before trading began shaped market positioning ahead of the exercise.
Strong demand at OMO auction
Investor appetite for OMO bills remained robust at the CBN’s November 3, 2026 auction. Total subscriptions reached ₦3.52 trillion against an offer of ₦1.50 trillion, a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.35x.
Demand was concentrated at the 133-day tenor, which drew bids of ₦2.39 trillion, about 67.8% of total subscriptions, as investors sought to lock in attractive short-term returns.
According to Cowry Asset Management Limited, the CBN allotted ₦2.95 trillion, 96.3% above the initial offer. The 133-day instrument accounted for ₦2.36 trillion of total sales.
Allotments at the shorter 119-day and 126-day tenors were more restrained, at ₦339.82 billion and ₦247.31 billion respectively, despite subscriptions at both tenors exceeding their individual offers.
Secondary market quotes
Analysts at Herwood Securities Limited reported the 17 June 2027 Nigerian Treasury bill was quoted at 16.50% (offer), while the 26 August bill was quoted at 16.40% (offer).
The 8 December OMO bill was quoted at 18.50% (offer), and the 22 December bill at 18.30% (offer). The 26 January bill was offered at 17.30%, the 20 April bill was quoted at 17.00%/16.95% (bid/offer), and the 22 June bill was offered at 16.15%.
Market outlook
Herwood Securities expects the Treasury bills market to remain active in the near term, with focus shifting to the upcoming Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction, where ₦800 billion is to be offered across three maturities.
“The outcome of the auction, particularly the level of subscriptions and stop rates, will influence secondary market positioning and investor appetite across the NTB curve,” the firm said in an investor update.
The firm added that, following strong demand at the OMO auction, particularly for the 133-day instrument, market interest may remain tilted toward higher-yielding OMO maturities.
Investors will likely remain selective, with some participants choosing between NTB and OMO maturities to find favourable entry levels.
Traders expect pre-auction positioning to influence secondary-market activity, as investors weigh the relative attractiveness of available yields against potential stop rates at the NTB auction.
