The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to conduct a Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, aiming to raise N600 billion. This issuance marks the latest primary market activity under the apex bank’s Q3 2026 borrowing calendar.
The planned auction details were released in an official tender notice issued by the CBN on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), as reported by Nairametrics.
Auction Details and Q3 Borrowing Plan
The N600 billion offering is structured across three maturities using the Dutch auction system. This includes N100 billion for 91-day Treasury Bills, N100 billion for 182-day Treasury Bills, and N400 billion for 364-day Treasury Bills.
All Money Market Dealers are required to submit bids electronically via the CBN S4 Web Interface between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15. Each bid must be submitted in multiples of N1,000, with a minimum of N50,001,000.
Auction results are anticipated to be announced today, July 15, with allotment letters issued to successful bidders on Thursday, July 16. Payment must reach the CBN by 11:00 a.m. on the settlement day.
Under its Q3 NTB issuance calendar, the CBN, acting for the DMO, intends to raise a total of N5.8 trillion across nine issuance schedules over three months. July alone has three issuance schedules targeting N2 trillion.
Previous Auction Performance and Market Insights
Today's auction follows a busy period, including a June 17 NTB auction where the CBN raised N1.49 trillion and increased stop rates across all tenors. At the most recent auction on July 8, the CBN offered N700 billion across the three tenors.
Demand at the July 8 auction reached N2.03 trillion, surpassing the N1.86 trillion recorded at the prior session. The CBN ultimately allotted N1.06 trillion, a deliberate reduction from the N1.49 trillion allotted previously.
Demand was heavily concentrated at the long end of the curve, with the 364-day paper attracting N1.86 trillion in subscriptions. Stop rates cleared at 16.30% for the 91-day bill, 16.50% for the 182-day, and 17.70% for the 364-day instrument, with the one-year bill experiencing a sharp 36 basis points increase compared to the preceding auction.
This repricing reflects a sustained aggressive borrowing stance and investor demand for higher compensation amid persistent inflation concerns. The offer structure for today’s auction differs, with the 364-day offer trimmed to N400 billion from N500 billion previously, now accounting for two-thirds of the total offer.
Nigeria’s NTB market has consistently seen oversubscription throughout 2026, with investor demand exceeding offer sizes at every primary market auction this year. The 364-day stop rate of 17.70% from the July 8 auction represents the highest for the instrument in recent weeks, driven by bearish fixed income sentiment and rising inflation concerns.
With May 2026 headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) printing at 15.93%, the one-year T-bill at 17.70% offers a positive real return of approximately 177 basis points. This makes it one of the few instruments in Nigeria’s current fixed income landscape that decisively beats inflation on a headline basis.
Market participants will closely monitor whether stop rates at today’s auction remain above 17.70% for the 364-day bill, or if the CBN opts to slightly ease borrowing costs, pending the announcement of the June inflation outcome by the NBS today.
