Primary Market Watch: Treasury Bills & OMO Post Auction Analysis – 11 November 2026

DMO raises N713bn, lets 364-day rate edge up as OMO drains liquidity

 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted Open Market Operations (OMO) and Treasury bills auctions during the week, as a large OMO sale tightened system liquidity and weighed on demand at the Treasury bills auction.

At the OMO auction conducted on 10 November 2026, the CBN offered N1.50 trillion across the 154-day, 252-day and 329-day tenors. The auction attracted total subscriptions of N4.07 trillion, translating to a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.72x, and the CBN allotted N3.85 trillion, more than two and a half times the offer size, compared with N2.72 trillion at the previous OMO auction on 6 November.

Stop rates settled at 17.44% (154-day), 16.68% (252-day) and 15.99% (329-day), with longer-dated bills continuing to clear at lower rates than shorter-dated bills. The longest-dated bill cleared at 15.99%, compared with 15.74% (361-day) at the previous auction.

Following the OMO auction, the CBN, on behalf of the Federal Government, conducted the Treasury bills auction on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, offering N800 billion across the three standard maturities, unchanged from the previous auction on 4 November. The auction recorded a sharp decline in demand, with total subscriptions falling by 45% to N1.12 trillion from N2.04 trillion at the previous auction, translating to an overall bid-to-cover ratio of 1.40x compared with 2.56x previously. Despite the weaker demand, the DMO allotted N713.30 billion, about 89% of the offer size and up from N509.40 billion at the previous auction, as it rejected only about 36% of total bids, down from 75% previously. The 91-day and 182-day stop rates were maintained at 15.40% and 15.79%, respectively, while the 364-day stop rate edged up by 9 basis points to 15.89%.

Market Backdrop

Ahead of the Treasury bills auction, system liquidity declined to N4.87 trillion from N5.78 trillion at the close of the previous week, as the CBN’s N3.85 trillion OMO sale on 10 November more than offset OMO maturities of N2.30 trillion. Meanwhile, benchmark Treasury bill yields moderated, with the average secondary market yield declining by 29 basis points to 17.80% on 10 November from 18.09% on 4 November. The decline was driven by the 1-month and 6-month benchmark yields, which fell by 121 and 45 basis points to 17.17% and 18.21%, respectively. In contrast, the 3-month benchmark yield rose by 18 basis points to 17.23%, while the 9-month and 12-month benchmark yields were broadly unchanged at 17.99% and 18.38%, respectively.

The tightening in system liquidity, following the CBN’s N3.85 trillion OMO sale on 10 November, reduced the funds available for investment in Treasury bills, weighing on demand at the auction.

Source: CBN, FMDA

 Auction Outcome

Investor demand remained concentrated on the 364-day Treasury bill, although subscriptions declined to N1.08 trillion from N1.99 trillion at the previous auction against an unchanged offer of N600 billion, translating to a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.80x compared with 3.32x previously. The DMO allotted N672.91 billion for the tenor, about 12% above the amount offered, accepting about 62% of bids, with bids ranging as high as 18.50%.

Demand at the shorter end of the curve weakened further. The 91-day Treasury bill attracted subscriptions of N19.18 billion against N100 billion offered, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 0.19x, while the 182-day bill recorded subscriptions of N23.02 billion against N100 billion offered, translating to a bid-to-cover ratio of 0.23x. The DMO allotted N18.12 billion and N22.28 billion on the 91-day and 182-day bills, respectively, accepting about 94% and 97% of bids at the two tenors.

Stop rates were maintained at 15.40% and 15.79% for the 91-day and 182-day tenors, respectively, while the 364-day stop rate rose by 9 basis points to 15.89%, its first increase since 14 October, as the DMO accepted higher bids to raise more funds amid weaker demand.

Source: CBN, FMDA

Source: CBN, FMDA

 Market Insight

• Demand for Treasury bills fell sharply, with total subscriptions declining by 45% to N1.12 trillion from N2.04 trillion, as the CBN’s N3.85 trillion OMO sale on 10 November drained system liquidity to N4.87 trillion.
• Despite the weaker demand, the DMO raised N713.30 billion, up from N509.40 billion at the previous auction, as it rejected only about 36% of bids compared with 75% previously.
• The 9 basis points rise in the 364-day stop rate to 15.89%, the first increase since 14 October, indicates that the DMO is now willing to accept slightly higher borrowing costs to meet its funding needs.
• The gap between OMO and Treasury bill rates has narrowed at the long end, with the 329-day OMO stop rate of 15.99% only about 10 basis points above the 364-day Treasury bill stop rate of 15.89%.
• Across the five Treasury bills auctions held so far in Q4 2026, the DMO has raised about N2.53 trillion against N3.75 trillion offered.
• Looking ahead, demand at Treasury bills auctions will depend largely on the pace of CBN’s OMO sales and system liquidity conditions, which will also determine whether the DMO continues to allow stop rates to edge higher.

 Citation: When using this analysis, please cite: Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), Primary Market Watch – Post Auction Analysis, 11 November 2026.