By Chinwendu Obienyi
Total sales from Nigerian Treasury Bills (T-Bills) have reached N7.25 trillion year-to-date, buoyed by continued investor demand and strong system liquidity, Daily Sun investigations revealed on Thursday.
The CBN conducts regular auctions, often bi-weekly, offering T-Bills in three tenors: 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day. At each auction, the CBN sells varying amounts depending on its liquidity management strategy and fiscal needs.
For example, in this most recent auction, the CBN sold N598.33 billion.
Over the past months, similar or even larger sales have occurred repeatedly — typically in the range of N300 billion to N700 billion per auction.
These sales accumulate over time, and as of now, the aggregate sales from January to early May 2025 total N7.25 trillion.
At its latest auction which held on Wednesday, the apex bank offered N550 billion worth of T-Bills across three maturities — 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors.
Despite a dip in overall subscriptions to N1.08 trillion, down from N1.53 trillion at the previous auction, demand still more than doubled the offer, reflecting persistent investor interest.
The breakdown of the offer showed N50 billion was auctioned in 91-day bills, N100 billion in 182-day bills, and N400 billion in 364-day bills. However, the CBN allotted a total of N598.33 billion, exceeding its initial offer due to overwhelming market interest.
The bulk of sales came from the 364-day tenor, which attracted the highest demand and accounted for N482.62 billion, or roughly 80 per cent of the total allotment. The 91-day bills received the least interest, with subscriptions of N48.4 billion and a final allotment of just N38.4 billion.
Analysts say the sustained demand is being driven by abundant system liquidity and attractive real returns on short-term government securities. As of May 6, system liquidity stood at N1.21 trillion, further boosted by N287.98 billion in maturing bills — both contributing to the oversubscription seen at the auction.
Yields across most maturities held steady, with the 91-day and 182-day bills remaining at 18.85 per cent and 20.38 per cent respectively. The 364-day bill saw a marginal uptick in yield to 24.41 per cent, up from 24.36 per cent.
The outcome of the latest auction underscores the CBN’s reliance on short-term instruments to manage domestic liquidity while balancing its monetary policy objectives.
With yields hovering at elevated levels and liquidity conditions remaining favourable, analysts expect strong investor interest in NT-Bills to continue in the near term.
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