By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In the just concluded week, the treasury bills market closed on a bearish note, with average yield expanding by 87 bps to 18.23 percent, from last week’s 17.37 percent, analysts at Cordros disclosed.
In its weekly report, the investment firm said the yield expansion was largely driven by the increased pressure on system liquidity during the week (as discussed above).
It further noted that yields at the short (+194 bps), mid (+44 bps) and long (+29 bps) ends of the curve increased, following selloffs of 48DTM (+388 bps), 174DTM (+109 bps), and 202DTM (+81 bps) bills, respectively.
At next week’s NTB auction, the apex bank will offer N62.44 billion worth of bills – comprising N32.44 billion and N30 billion of the 91DTM and 182DTM bills, respectively.
“We expect an uptick in average yield in the coming week, as demand remains constrained by tight liquidity position,” Cordros said.
Also in the bond market last week, proceedings remained bearish, as average yield expanded by 4 bps to 16.77 percent, reflecting the continued strain on system liquidity.
Analysts at Cordros said yields expanded at the short (+4 bps) and long (+12 bps) ends of the curve, while investors were upbeat at the mid (-10 bps) end, driven by the 30-MAY-2018 (+20 bps), 18-JULY-2034 (+28 bps), and 13-FEB-2020 (-16 bps) bonds, respectively.
