The CBN sells ₦3.85 trillion of OMO bills, 5.32 times its 6 November sale, as tenors stretch to 329 days
Key findings
- The CBN sold ₦3.85 trillion of OMO bills on 10 November, 5.32 times the ₦724.32 billion it sold on 6 November and above the ₦2.95 trillion of 3 November.
- The 329-day bill took ₦2,789.49 billion, 72.38% of the day's sales, against ₦2.82 trillion of bids.
- Stop rates fell with tenor: 17.44% at 154 days, 16.68% at 252 days and 15.99% at 329 days.
- The 329-day rate is 0.55 percentage points below the 16.54% at which the 270-day bill cleared on 6 November.
The Central Bank of Nigeria sold ₦3.85 trillion of open market operation (OMO) bills on 10 November, according to its auction results. It offered ₦500 billion in each of three tenors, ₦1.5 trillion in all, and received ₦4.07 trillion of bids.
The sale is 5.32 times the ₦724.32 billion the Bank sold on 6 November, and larger than the ₦2.95 trillion it sold on 3 November. Unlike those two operations, demand did not run ahead of the offer in every tenor: the 154-day bill drew only ₦457.89 billion of bids and the CBN sold ₦280.76 billion of it at 17.44%.
| Tenor | Offered (₦ billion) | Sold (₦ billion) | Stop rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 154 days | 500 | 280.76 | 17.44 |
| 252 days | 500 | 783.50 | 16.68 |
| 329 days | 500 | 2,789.49 | 15.99 |
Most of the money went to the longest bill. The 329-day tenor took ₦2,789.49 billion, 72.38% of the day's sales, at a stop rate of 15.99%. That is 0.55 percentage points below the 16.54% at which the 270-day bill cleared on 6 November, and well below the 17.67% at which the 133-day bill cleared on 3 November.
Why it matters
OMO sales take naira out of the banking system until the bills mature. By selling most of this week's bills for 329 days, the CBN is holding a large block of liquidity out of the market until October 2027, at a lower cost than a week ago. Rates that fall as tenors lengthen suggest banks expect yields to be lower over the coming year than they are today.
What to watch
- Whether the next OMO operations keep offering tenors near a year, or return to the shorter bills sold earlier in the month.
- The next Treasury bill auction, and whether its stop rates follow the lower OMO rates at the long end.
- Short-term money market rates once the sale settles.
Methodology
All figures come from the CBN's OMO auction results as held in Dataminal's fixed income dataset (amounts in naira, stop rates as published). The day's totals add the three tenors; the comparison with 6 November divides this sale by the sum of that day's two tenors. The share of the 329-day bill is its sale divided by the day's total.