Rates to remain unchanged despite N233.8bn OMO maturity

Money market rates are expected to remain around similar levels as the previous week despite continued Open Market Operation (OMO) mop ups by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and an OMO maturity of N233.8 billion traders said.

In the coming week, an OMO maturity of N233.8 billion is scheduled to hit the system and “we expect rates to remain around similar levels despite continued OMO mop ups by the CBN,” one dealer said.

Sentiment in the Treasury Bills market stayed bullish due to improvement in system liquidity last week. Hence, average yield on benchmark bills declined 38basis points (bps) week-on-week ( W-o-W) to 17.5 per cent.

Dealers said there was a T-bills auction on Wednesday, where-in investors continued to aggressively bid for longer dated bills although rates were barely changed relative to the last auction. N6.3 billion, N6.7 billion and N88.0 billion of the 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day bills were issued at 13.1per cent 15.3 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively.