Nigeria Treasury Bills Yield Rises 13bps on Sell Orders
The average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills rose by 13 basis points in the secondary market as investors placed sell orders across the short, belly, and long ends of the curve.
The market reacted to the tight spot rate on the short-term borrowing instrument. Fixed-income market analysts reported that yield expansion was most pronounced in the 364-day paper, which saw a 56bps week-on-week increase to 19.1%.
Conversely, the 182- and 91-day instruments saw declines, with yield compressing by 15bps and 2bps to 17.3% and 16.4%, respectively.
Analysts expect the bearish performance to persist in the secondary T-bill market, underpinned by persistently tight liquidity conditions.
The system liquidity remained in negative territory, closing at a deficit of ₦3.8 trillion, from a deficit of ₦ 3.4 trillion in the prior week. The persistent liquidity pressure was largely due to substantial outflows of ₦3.9 trillion via the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) window.
During the Treasury Bills auction last week, strong investor demand drove total subscriptions far beyond the ₦750 billion offered, with the 364-day bill attracting ₦2.12 trillion, while the 182-day and 91-day tenors recorded ₦172.08 billion and ₦72.73 billion, respectively.
Allotments were skewed toward the long end, with ₦753.45 billion allocated to the 364-day instrument, compared with ₦76.24 billion and ₦64.48 billion for the 182-day and 91-day bills, respectively.
Despite the robust demand, stop rates remained unchanged at 15.95% (91-day), 16.19% (182-day), and 16.199% (364-day), indicating pricing discipline amid strong liquidity conditions and sustained investor preference for longer-duration instruments. UBA Surges 15% as Share Price Touches 52-Week High
