Interbank rates to decrease on absence of primary market auctions

Dealers in money market instruments are expectant of decrease in interbank rates because of  financial system liquidity ease absence of primary market auctions during the week.

This will be coupled by maturing secondary market securities worth N123.53 billion viz: 338-day bills worth N28.82 billion and 339-day bills worth N94.71 billion.

“In the coming week, we expect rates to remain at similar levels as an OMO maturity worth N123.5 billion hits the system although we believe the CBN will continue with its OMO mop up,” one dealer said.

Meanwhile, the Debt Management Office (DMO) will on Wednesday, September 27, 2017 auction N135 billion worth of bonds at the local market, while the National Bureau of Statistics releases its second quarter (Q2) 2017 Labor Productivity Report and Q2 2017 Online Recruitment Service Report.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), last Thursday raised N215.9 billion from an auction of the Nigerian Treasury Bills, which was N75 billion more than the N140.9 billion it originally planned to raise. The total subscription at the auction stood at N559 billion, which was about, N418.1 billion or 296.7 per cent in excess.

Treasury-bills/Financial instruments’ traders attributed the upsurge in the subscription to the interest shown by foreign investors, with the one-year paper accounting for most of the debt. Investors bid as much as 18.9 per cent for the one-year debt and as low as 13.15 per cent for the three months note. The CBN raised N22.78 billion in three month tenored bills at 13.15 per cent, N24.74 billion in six month bills at 16.8 per cent and N168.36 billion in one-year bills at 17 per cent.

The banking sector regulator issues treasury bills twice a month to help the government fund its budget deficit, support commercial lenders in managing liquidity and curb inflation.