The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allotted about ₦3.46 trillion across two auctions this week, keeping Treasury Bill stop rates unchanged while absorbing liquidity from the banking system.
According to auction results published by the Central Bank, investors submitted about ₦5.57 trillion in bids against combined offers of ₦2.30 trillion, a subscription rate of about 2.42 times the amount offered.
Most of the allotment came from the Open Market Operations auction on Monday, November 3, which allotted about ₦2.95 trillion, or 85.3% of the combined total. The Open Market Operations sale drew ₦3.52 trillion in subscriptions against a ₦1.50 trillion offer across the 119-day, 126-day and 133-day tenors, a bid-to-cover ratio of about 2.35 times. The 133-day bill attracted ₦2.36 trillion in subscriptions, about 67% of total demand. Stop rates were 17.77% for the 119-day bill, 17.71% for the 126-day bill and 17.67% for the 133-day bill.
The Nigerian Treasury Bills auction on Tuesday, November 4, drew ₦2.05 trillion in subscriptions against an ₦800 billion offer, about 2.56 times the amount offered. The Central Bank allotted ₦509.41 billion, about 63.7% of the offer, leaving about ₦1.54 trillion of bids unallotted. Demand was concentrated in the 364-day bill, which attracted ₦1.99 trillion in bids and received ₦461.84 billion in allotments. The 91-day bill received ₦22.40 billion of its ₦25.01 billion in bids, and the 182-day bill received ₦25.17 billion of ₦25.83 billion.
The stop rates did not change from the previous auction. The 91-day bill cleared at 15.40%, the 182-day bill at 15.79% and the 364-day bill at 15.80%. Bids for the one-year bill reached as high as 18.18%, above the accepted rate.
The latest Treasury Bill allotment was substantially higher than the ₦71.16 billion allotted at the October 28 auction, when most bids were rejected.
Secondary-market yields have moved higher. The average Treasury Bill yield rose about 43 basis points to 17.70% on November 3, from 17.28% on October 28. The three-month benchmark yield rose 130 basis points to 17.40%, and the six-month benchmark rose 122 basis points to 17.85%. The 126-day Open Market Operations stop rate of 17.71% sat 192 basis points above the 182-day Treasury Bill stop rate, and the 91-day bill’s stop rate was 200 basis points below the three-month secondary-market benchmark. The analysis describes this as a pricing gap between primary-market bills, secondary-market securities and Open Market Operations instruments.
The Central Bank had allotted only ₦244.93 billion at the October 29 Open Market Operations auction, despite ₦2.28 trillion in subscriptions. The sharp increase in allotments this week suggests the Central Bank may be returning to more aggressive liquidity absorption, the analysis says, although Treasury Bill allotments remained below the advertised offer.
Banking-system liquidity was above ₦7.72 trillion in the Standing Deposit Facility on November 3, after the settlement of about ₦2.02 trillion in Open Market Operations maturities. In September, the Central Bank sold ₦17.51 trillion in Open Market Operations securities against ₦10.89 trillion in maturities, a net withdrawal of about ₦6.62 trillion.
The Financial Markets Dealers Association reported that banking-system liquidity rose 56.75% to ₦7.37 trillion in October as Open Market Operations absorption moderated. The association projects liquidity inflows of about ₦13.79 trillion in November, driven largely by Open Market Operations maturities, government allocations and Treasury Bill repayments.
The Debt Management Office has raised about ₦1.82 trillion against ₦2.95 trillion offered across four Treasury Bill auctions so far in the fourth quarter of 2026. The Monetary Policy Committee meets again in November, and investors are watching the Central Bank’s policy stance and future auction decisions.
