The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) significantly reduced the spot rate on its 364-day Treasury bills by 138 basis points, bringing it down to 16.98% during Wednesday’s primary market auction.
This move follows a previous rate of 18.36% and reflects a strategic adjustment by the apex bank in response to overwhelming market liquidity.
The auction saw a total offer of ₦1.15 trillion across standard tenors, attracting a staggering ₦4.586 trillion in total subscriptions. Investor interest was heavily skewed toward the long-term duration, with one-year bills accounting for 96% of the aggregate bids.
Despite the ₦4.396 trillion chase for the 364-day paper, the CBN opted for a disciplined allotment, selling ₦808.78 billion.
In contrast, the shorter tenors saw more moderate activity. The 91-day bills received ₦66 billion in bids against a ₦150 billion offer, while the 182-day bills recorded ₦123 billion in subscriptions against a ₦200 billion offer.
The CBN maintained the discount rates for these tenors at 15.84% and 16.65%, respectively.
The successful repricing of the long-term rate suggests a growing investor appetite for duration, even as the apex bank underwrites its offer with total sales settling at ₦952.6 billion.