Imported User:
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has concluded plans to mop-up N841.56 billion ($5.20 billion) through the issuance of treasury bills ranging from three months to one year in the third quarter of the year, a slow down, compared with previous quarters.
The bank said it would auction N235.19 billion worth in 91-, 182- and 364-day paper in the last two weeks of June, N250.44 billion worth in July, N212.70 billion in August and N142.97 billion worth of the same tenor in first week of September.
The quantity of short-dated paper on offer in the third quarter was lower than the 917.76 billion naira offered in the previous quarter.
Dealers said the drop reflected lacklustre demand from foreign investors to roll over maturing T-bills, leading to an exit of foreign capital that had invested heavily in the paper in the first and earlier part of the second quarter.
Nigeria, Africa’s second biggest economy after South Africa, issues treasury bills regularly as part of monetary control measures to help lenders manage their liquidity.
