CBN Scheduled to Raise N700bn from Nigerian Treasury Bills
With expectations of robust demand over the one-year tenor, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is scheduled to offer N700 billion in Treasury bills at a primary market auction on Wednesday.
The Treasury bills offer, totalling N700 billion, will be split across the 91-, 182-, and 364-day maturities, with fixed-income market analysts anticipating robust demand.
The 91-day and 182-day bills will each account for N100 billion, while the 364-day instrument will receive the largest allocation of N500 billion, according to the auction circular.
Given the excess liquidity in the financial system, demand is expected to remain strong as fixed-income market investors continue to increase bets on naira assets.
Reflecting sustained appetite for long-duration paper, analysts said one-year Treasury bills would continue to drive demand. Spot rates are expected to dip following a slowdown in the headline inflation rate.
Lower spot rates are anticipated at the midweek auction, mirroring the latest bond market offers, where the Debt Management Office (DMO) reduced returns across reopening bonds.
“Given the dominance of the longer tenor in the offer structure, competition for the 364-day bill is expected to remain strong as investors seek to secure relatively high yields for an extended period.
“We expect rates at the auction to remain broadly aligned with prevailing secondary-market levels, although strong demand could moderate yields at the margin”, Cowry Asset Management Limited said in a note.
During last week’s trading session, investor attention remained firmly focused on the forthcoming primary market auction, as market participants sought to lock in the prevailing high yields before any potential repricing downward.
Fixed income market analysts said the easing of headline inflation to 15.43% in July 2026 has also improved the real-return outlook for fixed-income investors, particularly as nominal T-bill yields remain comfortably above the inflation rate.
A soft bullish sentiment was observed around the midsection of the curve, according to Cowry Asset Limited, supported by demand for relatively attractive maturities, while the short and long ends witnessed bearish pressure.
The modest rise in average yields indicates that, despite pockets of buying interest, investors continued to demand attractive entry levels amid expectations surrounding the upcoming primary auction and prevailing liquidity dynamics.
Overall, the average Treasury bill yield settled at 18.57%, representing a marginal 3bps week-on-week increase. #CBN Scheduled to Raise N700bn from Nigerian Treasury Bills
Interbank Rates Little Changed as System Liquidity Tops N4.9trn
