CBN to offer 81bn in Treasury Bills at today’s auction
Summary
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will auction ₦81 billion worth of Treasury Bills today (Wednesday), marking a smaller issuance compared to recent auctions that have seen a surge in investor interest. Analysts suggest the CBN may follow up with an Open Market Operations (OMO) auction to mop up excess liquidity, as ₦264 billion worth of OMO bills mature this week. In a further display of policy tightening, the bank held a ₦600 billion OMO auction last week, drawing in ₦1.529 trillion in bids and allotting ₦1.512 trillion. At its last T-bills auction, the CBN offered ₦450 billion across three tenors: ₦50 billion (91-day), ₦100 billion (182-day), and ₦300 billion (364-day). Investor demand was strong, with total subscriptions reaching ₦1.31 trillion—pushing the bid-to-offer ratio to 2.9x from 2.3x in the previous round. Without an OMO refinancing auction, the maturing instruments would increase system liquidity, potentially pulling down short-term interest rates. Today’s auction will be closely watched for signs of shifting investor sentiment and further clues on the CBN’s monetary policy trajectory. Combined with today’s T-bill offer, the central bank could withdraw as much as ₦345 billion from circulation if both auctions are held.
