OMO, Treasury Bills Attract N4.6trn As Fixed Income Market Surges

Investors committed a total of N5.8 trillion to fixed income securities in the Nigerian financial market last week, with Open Market Operations (OMO) bills and Treasury Bills accounting for the bulk of activity amid sustained demand for government-backed instruments and elevated interest rates.

Data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that transactions across OMO bills, Treasury Bills, Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds, and Sukuk instruments reflected strong investor participation from Monday to Friday.

OMO bills remained the dominant instrument in the market, attracting N3.07 trillion in trades during the week. The segment also opened the week strongly, with Monday alone recording N1.19 trillion in OMO transactions, lifting total fixed income turnover to N1.40 trillion for the day.

Treasury Bills followed closely, recording N1.51 trillion in transactions over the review period. Activity in the segment peaked on Thursday, when trades worth N1.06 trillion were executed, contributing significantly to the day’s total market turnover of N1.85 trillion.

Combined, OMO and Treasury Bills attracted about N4.58 trillion in investor commitments, underscoring a strong appetite for short-term, government-backed instruments amid tight liquidity conditions.

FGN Bonds also recorded robust activity, with transactions totalling N1.20 trillion during the week. Bond trading showed steady momentum, closing strongly on Friday with N487.91 billion in transactions, the highest daily bond turnover for the period.

In contrast, the Sukuk segment recorded relatively modest activity, with total trades of N16 billion. Of this, N6 billion was exchanged on Monday, and another N10 billion on Friday.

Overall market activity was highest on Thursday, the busiest trading day, with 641 transactions valued at N1.85 trillion, involving 27 market participants. Friday followed with N1.16 trillion in trades, while Monday recorded N1.40 trillion.

Market analysts attributed the strong demand for fixed-income securities to investors’ preference for safer assets amid macroeconomic uncertainty and attractive yields in the domestic debt market.

The CBN data also indicated consistent participation throughout the week, with the number of market players ranging from 23 to 27 daily, reflecting sustained confidence in the fixed-income space.