Nigeria raises 123bn naira on T-bills at lower yields

LAGOS: Nigeria raised 122.95 billion naira ($618 million) on Treasury bills with maturities from three months to a year at an auction on Wednesday, with yields lower than at previous auctions, the central bank said on Thursday.

The result of the auction showed that the bank sold 45.17 billion naira worth of three-month paper at 5.82 percent compared with 8.49 percent at the Oct. 21 auction.

It also sold 23.43 billion naira worth of six-month debt at 7.98 percent, down from 10.15 percent previously, and 54.35 billion naira of one-year paper sold at 9.48 percent, the auction results showed.

The drop in yields was reflective of trends in the secondary market, where returns have fallen to 3.61 percent, 7.22 percent and 8.20 percent for three-month, six-month and one-year debt each.