CBN Sells More TBs After Bond Auction Drop

• CBN Sells More TBs After Bond Auction Drop

The Central Bank of Nigeria sold more Treasury bills than it offered at an auction last week, after the Debt Management Office cut the size of a domestic bond sale in view of its high borrowing costs.

The TB sales were meant to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system.

The CBN raised N147.48bn ($484m) at a TB sale last Wednesday, higher than the N83.24bn it originally advertised and yields remained unchanged at the auction, Reuters reported on Friday.

It sold three-month paper at 14 per cent to raise N39bn and offered 17.50 per cent for six-month bills which fetched N23.02bn. It paid 18.68 per cent for the one-year bill worth N85.46bn.

On Wednesday, the debt office sold far less in bonds than it had offered as investors, worried about rising inflation in Africa’s largest economy, demanded higher yields from a government that is looking to spend its way out of recession.

Total subscriptions at the TBs auction stood at N185.97bn, up from N156.56bn at the previous sale last month, data from the central bank showed.

The CBN issues TBs regularly to help lenders manage their liquidity, curb rising inflation and provide naira to support the government fund for its budget.