The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, conducted its open market operations on Tuesday, where OMO bills worth N756.74 billion were allotted to authorised market participants—foreign investors and Nigerian banks—at relatively tight spot rates.
DAILY POST reports that the apex bank opened N500 billion OMO bills for subscriptions on Tuesday, which represents the third offering in less than two weeks.
The auction results revealed that the CBN auction saw a significant demand surge, though appetite appeared to have reduced sharply in comparison to the last two auctions in April 2025.
Accordingly, demand outstripped supply, AIICO Capital Limited told investors in a note, with total subscriptions reaching N773.74 billion and allotments at N756.74 billion.
Despite the liquidity drain from the auction, money market rates held firm at 26.5 percent due to offsetting inflows from N239.15 billion in maturing OMO bills. The Treasury bills market turned bearish in the secondary market, particularly for Mar/Apr OMO bills papers, following the OMO auction announcement.
Holders tried to offload positions ahead of the issuance, but buyer interest stayed muted. Spot rates on 315-day OMO bills tenor closed at 22.65 percent, while 329-day OMO bills were priced at the spot rate of 22.72 percent.
