In an unexpected turn, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold its risk-free one-year Treasury bill at 22.52 percent, the first increase this year as the market struggles with liquidity.
At the auction on Wednesday, yield spiked up to 22.52 percent from 21.68 percent on tight liquidity. This is a deviation from the past auctions where yields have been on constant decline in response to the rebased inflation rate of 24.48 percent from 34.8 percent, coupled with expectations of further moderation in the year.
As of Monday, the market had a liquidity net-deficit of N98.65 billion, and a lower maturing profile compared to the offer size of N162 billion vs N550 billion, also fuelled the tight liquidity state.