Primary Market Watch: Treasury Bills & OMO Post Auction Analysis – 4 November 2026

DMO holds T-bill rates steady, raises N509bn as demand tops N2trn

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted Open Market Operations (OMO) and Treasury bills auctions during the week, with the CBN mopping up significant liquidity through OMO while the DMO held Treasury bill stop rates steady.

At the OMO auction conducted on 3 November 2026, the CBN offered N1.50 trillion across the 119-day, 126-day and 133-day tenors. The auction attracted total subscriptions of N3.52 trillion, translating to a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.35x, and the CBN allotted N2.95 trillion, almost twice the offer size. Demand was concentrated on the 133-day bill, which accounted for N2.36 trillion, or 80% of total sales. This contrasts sharply with the previous OMO auction on 29 October, when the CBN sold only N244.93 billion against an offer of N1.00 trillion, despite subscriptions of N2.28 trillion.

Stop rates edged higher to 17.77% (119-day), 17.71% (126-day) and 17.67% (133-day), compared with 17.69% (124-day) and 17.63% (138-day) at the previous auction, with the shorter tenors continuing to clear at higher rates than the longer tenor.

Following the OMO auction, the CBN, on behalf of the Federal Government, conducted the Treasury bills auction on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, offering N800 billion across the three standard maturities, unchanged from the previous auction on 28 October. The auction attracted total subscriptions of N2.04 trillion, up from N1.91 trillion at the previous auction, translating to an overall bid-to-cover ratio of 2.56x compared with 2.38x previously. The DMO allotted N509.40 billion, about 64% of the offer size and over seven times the N71.16 billion raised at the previous auction, while rejecting about 75% of total bids, amounting to N1.54 trillion, down from 96% previously. Stop rates were maintained at 15.40%, 15.79% and 15.80% for the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors, respectively.

Market Backdrop

Ahead of the Treasury bills auction, system liquidity rose marginally to N7.58 trillion from N7.37 trillion at the close of the previous week, as OMO maturities of N2.02 trillion were largely offset by the CBN’s N2.95 trillion OMO sale on 3 November. However, benchmark Treasury bill yields rose, with the average secondary market yield increasing by 43 basis points to 17.70% on 3 November from 17.28% on 28 October. The increase was driven by the 3-month and 6-month benchmark yields, which rose by 130 and 122 basis points to 17.40% and 17.85%, respectively, while the 12-month yield edged up by 3 basis points to 18.24%. In contrast, the 9-month and 1-month benchmark yields declined by 36 and 5 basis points to 18.10% and 16.93%, respectively.

The rise in short-dated secondary market yields reflects the pull of higher OMO rates, as the CBN continues to sell 119-day to 138-day OMO bills at about 17.6% to 17.8%.

Source: CBN, FMDA

Auction Outcome

Investor demand remained concentrated on the 364-day Treasury bill, which attracted subscriptions of N1.99 trillion against an offer of N600 billion, translating to a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.32x, up from 3.06x at the previous auction. The DMO allotted N461.84 billion for the tenor, about 77% of the amount offered, while rejecting about N1.53 trillion of bids, with bids ranging as high as 18.18%.

Demand at the shorter end of the curve remained weak. The 91-day Treasury bill attracted subscriptions of N25.01 billion against N100 billion offered, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 0.25x, while the 182-day bill recorded subscriptions of N25.83 billion against N100 billion offered, translating to a bid-to-cover ratio of 0.26x. The DMO allotted N22.40 billion and N25.17 billion on the 91-day and 182-day bills, respectively, accepting about 90% and 97% of bids at the two tenors.

Stop rates were unchanged at 15.40%, 15.79% and 15.80% for the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors, respectively, suggesting that the DMO is holding its pricing stance despite rising secondary market yields.

Source: CBN, FMDA

Source: CBN, FMDA

Market Insight

• The DMO raised N509.40 billion, over seven times the N71.16 billion raised at the previous auction, without increasing its borrowing cost, as stop rates were held steady across all tenors.
• The share of bids rejected fell to about 75% from 96% at the previous auction, indicating that more investors were willing to accept the DMO’s pricing as subscriptions rose above N2 trillion.
• Primary and secondary market rates continue to diverge, with the 3-month and 6-month benchmark yields rising by over 120 basis points while Treasury bill stop rates were unchanged.
• OMO bills continue to offer a significant premium over Treasury bills, with the 126-day OMO stop rate of 17.71% about 192 basis points above the 182-day Treasury bill stop rate of 15.79%, drawing liquidity away from the Treasury bills market.
• Across the four Treasury bills auctions held so far in Q4 2026, the DMO has raised about N1.82 trillion against N2.95 trillion offered, reflecting its continued preference for lower rates over meeting its offer size.
• Looking ahead, the trajectory of yields will depend on system liquidity conditions following the CBN’s N2.95 trillion OMO sale, the pace of further OMO issuances and the DMO’s pricing stance at subsequent auctions.

Citation: When using this analysis, please cite: Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), Primary Market Watch – Post Auction Analysis, 4 November 2026.