The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to open N550 billion worth of Nigerian Treasury bills for subscription this week, according to its calendar. The monetary authority will offer investors opportunities to subscribe to Treasury bills at the primary market auction on Wednesday.

The amount in the offer is expected to be split across standard maturities of 91 days, 182 days, and 364 days. In separate discussions with MarketForces Africa, analysts predicted the offer would be significantly oversubscribed, reflecting the current market mood.

Also in the week, a total of N162.17 billion worth of Treasury bills will mature across various maturities. With interest rate expectations pointing downward, analysts anticipate strong investor participation and a marginal decline in market yields.

At the primary market auction conducted last week, the CBN offered N650 billion worth of instruments across standard maturities. Investor appetite remained strong, with total subscriptions soaring to N1.92 trillion, translating to a bid-to-offer ratio of 2.32x.

However, the CBN opted to sell only N830.44 billion, keeping supply in check. Stop rates trended on mixed note. Spot rates for 91-day bill holding steady at 17.00%, while the 182-day and 364-day maturities eased to 17.75% and 17.82%, down from 18.00% and 18.43% at the previous auction.

Also, the CBN sold OMO bills to local banks and foreign portfolio investors a day after Treasury bills were auctioned. At the auction, the CBN offered N600 billion across 355-day and 362-day tenors. Demand remained strong, with total subscriptions reaching N1.88 trillion, leading to total sales of N1.68 trillion and a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.12x.

Again, stop rates declined from the last auction, settling at 19.19% and 19.45%.