The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adopted a more conservative approach at its Primary Market Auction on March 18, 2026, allotting N691.86 billion of the N1.05 trillion Treasury Bills offered.

This decision reflects the CBN's strategy to manage borrowing costs more cautiously, even as investor appetite remained robust, with total subscriptions reaching N3.06 trillion.

The auction results, observed by Nairametrics, indicate a strong preference among investors for longer-dated instruments.

Demand was overwhelmingly skewed towards the 364-day Treasury Bill, which garnered N2.89 trillion in subscriptions against an offer of N800 billion. The final allotment for this tenor was N542.64 billion.

In contrast, the 182-day bill underperformed, attracting only N66.99 billion in subscriptions against an offer of N150 billion, with an allotment of N47.94 billion.

The 91-day bill saw subscriptions of N102.19 billion against an offer of N100 billion, resulting in an allotment of N101.29 billion.

Overall subscription levels saw a significant increase from N2.34 trillion at the March 4 auction, primarily driven by the heightened demand for the 364-day instrument.

Regarding yields, the stop rate for the 91-day bill remained steady at 15.95%. The 182-day bill experienced a slight decrease, moving to 16.62% from 16.65% at the previous auction.

The 364-day bill also saw a decline in its stop rate, falling to 16.63% from 16.73% previously. This moderation in rates, especially at the longer end, suggests easing pressure on yields and potentially improved liquidity in the financial system.

The auction was conducted using the CBN’s Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4) and the Dutch auction system, a method designed for transparent price discovery based on competitive bidding.