By Ayo Kehinde
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allotted ₦1.49 trillion at its June 17 Treasury Bills (NTB) primary market auction, raising stop rates across all three maturities as investors sought higher yields amid persistent inflationary pressures.
Auction results seen by Nairametrics showed that total subscriptions stood at ₦1.863 trillion against an offer size of ₦1 trillion, representing an oversubscription of 1.9 times. The CBN eventually allotted ₦1.491 trillion, significantly above the original offer size, as it continued efforts to absorb excess liquidity from the banking system.
The auction comes as Nigeria’s inflation rate remained elevated at 15.93 percent in May, prompting investors to demand higher returns on government securities and pushing yields upward across the fixed-income market.
The 364-day Treasury bill attracted the bulk of investor interest, receiving subscriptions worth ₦1.663 trillion against an offer of ₦800 billion. The CBN allotted ₦1.291 trillion on the instrument and increased its stop rate sharply to 17.34 percent from 16.35 percent recorded at the previous auction.
The 91-day bill recorded subscriptions of ₦129.69 billion against an offer of ₦100 billion, with a stop rate of 16.28 percent, up from 16.05 percent. Meanwhile, the 182-day bill was the only tenor to be undersubscribed, attracting ₦70.22 billion in bids against an offer of ₦100 billion. Its stop rate rose to 16.50 percent from 16.19 percent.
The auction highlights investors’ growing preference for longer-dated securities, with the one-year bill accounting for about 89.3 percent of total subscriptions and 86.6 percent of total allotments.
The rise in stop rates marks the second consecutive auction in which yields have increased across all maturities, underscoring expectations that interest rates will remain elevated in the near term. It also reflects the CBN’s continued tight monetary stance as it balances inflation control with liquidity management in the financial system.
