Central Bank to Auction N700bn in Nigerian Treasury Bills
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will auction Nigerian Treasury bills worth N700 billion at the primary market auction scheduled for Wednesday.
The auction will be held midweek as the authority seeks to replace N805.89 billion worth of Nigerian Treasury bills that will expire during the week.
The Apex Bank will offer the short-term borrowing instrument across standard tenors for subscriptions to investors including local deposit money banks, pension funds administrators and asset managers on Wednesday.
The authority will float N100 billion worth of 91 days bills for subscription. Also, 182 days bills totalling N150 billion will be put up for investors’ subscription.
With persistent demand for duration, the CBN will auction Nigerian Treasury bills with 364 days maturity worth N450 billion for subscription.
Investors are expected to receive the offers with a significant subscription level, giving surplus liquidity in the financial system ahead of fresh inflows from T-bill and OMO bill repayments.
Analysts differed on spot rates expectations. At the last auction, the CBN kept rates unchanged across the standard tenors 91-day bills was sold at 15.30%, 182 days bills was priced at 15.50% and 364-day bills attracted 16.04%.
As higher interest rate begins to chase disinflation, the market anticipates that the authority’s magnanimous stance with elevated rates may be over.
“In our view, stop rates are likely to remain broadly muted, given the anticipated liquidity inflows and current bearish bias in the market”, AAG Capital Limited said in a note. Zenith Bank Sees Slight Gain on Huge Trading Volume
