The Central Bank of Nigeria conducted its Treasury Bills Primary Market Auction on Tuesday, May 20, 2026, allotting a combined N829.32 billion across the three tenors, with the bulk of allotments concentrated on the one-year paper.
Auction results seen by Nairametrics on Wednesday showed that total subscriptions climbed to approximately N1.99 trillion, far exceeding the N650 billion offered across the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors.
This underscored sustained liquidity conditions and continued appetite for long-dated government securities.
What the data is saying:Â
The 364-day bill attracted subscriptions of N1.84 trillion against an offer of N500 billion, with the CBN allotting N683.29 billion — reflecting a subscription-to-offer ratio of approximately 3.7 times.
- The 182-day bill recorded subscriptions of N81.04 billion compared to N50 billion offered, while allotment stood at N78.59 billion.
- The 91-day bill saw relatively soft demand, attracting subscriptions of N68.63 billion against N100 billion offered — the only tenor that fell short of its offer size — with N67.45 billion eventually allotted.
The auction outcome reflects sustained investor preference for longer-dated risk-free instruments as market participants continue seeking to lock in elevated yields amid lingering uncertainty in the broader macroeconomic environment.
More insights
Stop rates were broadly unchanged across all tenors, suggesting that market liquidity remained robust and that the CBN was unwilling to concede higher rates despite the significant oversubscription recorded on the long end.
- The 91-day bill stop rate edged marginally higher to 15.95% from 15.949% at the previous auction, a rise of just 0.1 basis point — effectively flat.
- The 182-day bill held steady at 16.14%, completely unchanged from the May 6 auction, signalling equilibrium between supply and demand at the mid-tenor.
- The 364-day bill eased slightly to 16.149% from 16.15%, a marginal decline of 0.1 basis point, suggesting the CBN retained firm control of the long end of the curve.
The relatively weak subscription on the short-dated 91-day instrument suggests investors seem reluctant to reinvest at the short end of the curve.
What you should know:Â
The latest auction follows the May 6 Primary Market Auction, at which the CBN allotted N731.75 billion after total subscriptions climbed to N2.41 trillion against a combined offer of N700 billion across the three tenors.
- Demand at that auction was similarly dominated by the 364-day bill, which alone attracted subscriptions of N2.23 trillion.
- The back-to-back oversubscription recorded across successive auctions underscores the depth of investor appetite for high-yield government securities, as market participants remain eager to lock in attractive risk-free returns ahead of potential easing in yields.
- This sustained demand also follows an aggressive Treasury bills issuance pattern in April 2026, during which the CBN conducted two major NT-bills auctions valued at N700 billion and N750 billion respectively, with total allotments reaching approximately N1.63 trillion — significantly above the combined offer size of N1.45 trillion.
- At the April 22 auction alone, the CBN allotted N894.17 billion after subscriptions surged to N2.36 trillion.
- The near-stable stop rates at the May 20 auction, coming on the heels of marginal declines recorded on May 6, suggest the market may be approaching a near-term floor on yields, with further downward movement likely contingent on shifting macroeconomic conditions and CBN policy direction.
Analysts also note that the sustained concentration of demand on the 364-day bill signals market expectations that yields may gradually moderate in the months ahead, prompting investors to front-load exposure to longer-dated instruments while current rates remain attractive.
