Investor participation in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest treasury bill auction fell sharply, despite the apex bank offering a sizable ₦800 billion worth of instruments across three maturities.
Data from Afrinvest revealed that the auction, which spanned the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors, recorded a bid-cover ratio of 1.1x—significantly lower than the 2.3x reported in the previous auction.
The soft demand suggests cautious investor sentiment amid persistent monetary tightening and elevated yields.
Among the three tenors, the 364-day bill garnered the strongest interest with a bid-cover ratio of 1.9x, while the shorter 91-day and 182-day papers saw weaker demand with bid-cover ratios of 1.0x and 1.1x, respectively.
The lower subscription levels occurred despite higher stop rates across all maturities. The 91-day paper cleared at 18.0%, up 100 basis points from the previous auction.
The 182-day and 364-day bills settled at 18.5% and 19.9%, reflecting increases of 70 and 150 basis points respectively.
Afrinvest noted that the subdued appetite for shorter-term instruments is partly due to shifting investor focus toward longer tenors, which offer more attractive yields amid expectations of sustained tight monetary policy.
In the secondary market, sentiment rebounded slightly as average yields across the curve declined by 40 basis points to 19.4%. Mid- and long-dated bills benefited from price appreciation, with yields falling by 16 basis points and 9 basis points to 19.0% and 21.6%, respectively.
In contrast, short-dated bills experienced mild selling pressure, pushing their average yield up by 13 basis points to 17.6%.
With ₦700 billion in new treasury instruments expected in the coming week, alongside ₦1.2 trillion in maturities, market dynamics are likely to shift as investors reposition in anticipation of more favorable pricing opportunities.
