For the first time in two months, investor demand exceeded the government’s target by 97.82 percent during the primary Treasury bill auction held last week by Ghana’s Treasury.
According to the latest data from the Bank of Ghana, the auction attracted total bids worth GH¢20.98 billion. Of this amount, the Treasury accepted GH¢10.64 billion—sufficient to cover both its target of GH¢5.44 billion and the impending maturity of GH¢5.24 billion.
The strong investor interest signals a renewed confidence in short-term government securities, following several weeks of subdued activity in the Treasury bill market.
The breakdown of the bids shows that GHS 5.65 billion out of GH¢13.77 billion in tenders for the 91-day bill were accepted. For the 182-day instrument, GH¢2.99 billion was accepted out of GH¢4.22 billion, while the 364-day bill saw GH¢2 billion accepted from GH¢2.98 billion in bids.
Market analysts have attributed the surge in demand to the recent steep reduction in the Bank of Ghana’s policy instrument, the BoG Bills, which had previously offered yields of around 27 per cent.
With the rate cut, investors have redirected their funds to government short-term securities, which still offer comparatively attractive returns.
Yields on these short-term instruments have, however, declined sharply.
The 91-day yield dropped by 93 basis points to 13.72 per cent, the 182-day fell by 41 basis points to 14.61 per cent, while the 364-day declined by 68 basis points to 14.73.
Source: myghanadaily
