Rate cut uncertainty, tariff wars spark demand for 91-day NT-bills.
The 91-day Nigerian Treasury bills (T-Bills), in an unusual event, saw double the N50 billion amount offered on it by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as fear of global tariffs sees investors locking in on shorter instruments.
Ayodeji Ebo, Managing Director/Chief Business Officer of Optimus by Afrinvest, explained that the increase in demand could be a result of an increase in yield on the tenure, making it more attractive.
“Also, it could be that investors moved from locking in on one-year bills to buying shorter bills as expectations of a rate cut declined due to the global turmoil in the financial markets caused by the tariff war,” Ebo said.
On Wednesday, the yield on the 91-day bill rose to 19.41 percent from 18.86 percent at the last auction, the highest yield on the instrument since August 2025.
Similarly, the 181-day tenor also saw an uptick in its yield to 21.62 percent from 20.39 percent.
Last Wednesday, President Trump introduced new tariffs. He put a 10 percent tariff on almost all imports into the U.S., except for goods from Canada and Mexico. This led to huge sell-offs across several financial markets around the world and raised fears of recession.
Source: Businessday
