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.
The offer is expected to test market appetite amid tightening liquidity conditions in the financial system. 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. Combined with today’s T-bill offer, the central bank could withdraw as much as ₦345 billion from circulation if both auctions are held.
Market watchers believed the CBN will maintain its aggressive tightening stance. Without an OMO refinancing auction, the maturing instruments would increase system liquidity, potentially pulling down short-term interest rates.
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. Stop rates settled at 17.98 per cent for the 91-day, 18.50 per cent for the 182-day, and 19.35 per cent for the 364-day tenors.
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.
Today’s auction will be closely watched for signs of shifting investor sentiment and further clues on the CBN’s monetary policy trajectory.
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