Treasury bills oversubscribed by 254.23% as Naira slows to N1,308/$1 on official window

Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday recorded an oversubscription of 254.23 per cent as investors’ total subscription stood at N531 billion as against the N142.57 billion offered. This comes just as the downward trajectory of the naira on both the official and parallel FX markets continued for the third consecutive day. Specifically, on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) window, the naira closed at N1,308.52/$1 yesterday, compared with the N1,300/$1 it closed on Tuesday. Also, on the parallel FX market, the naira depreciated to N1,300/$ yesterday, lower than the N1,270/$1 it was on Monday. However, daily turnover on the NAFEX surged by 47.8 per cent to reach $197.54 million yesterday, compared to $133.65 million recorded on Tuesday. However, on the NTBs’ auction, the CBN eventually allocated N362.45 billion to investors to complete its NTBs auction for April 2024. Investors sustained strong demand for the 364-day NTB as it was oversubscribed by 595.94 per cent to N725.66 billion, as against the N121.77 billion offered.  The CBN allocation for the 364-day NTB stood at N333.98 billion after conducting its auction, reflecting heightened investor appetite amidst the current economic landscape. On the other hand, for the 182-day NTB, the result revealed that its oversubscription grew by 104.09 per cent when investors subscribed N13.48 billion from the offered N12.95 billion, leaving the CBN to allocate N11.99 billion. Finally, the 91-day NTB had an offering of N7.85 billion, but recorded a subscription of N18.7 billion with the CBN’s allotment at N16.48 billion. The 91-day NTB had the second-highest subscription of about 238.36 per cent.