Investor demand for Treasury bills in the primary market remained subdued last week, with the latest auction falling short of the government’s fundraising target by GH¢1.07 billion.
Results released by the Bank of Ghana showed that investors submitted a total of GH¢4.21 billion in bids across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bill tenors.
The government accepted the entire amount tendered, raising GH¢4.21 billion.
Against a target of GH¢5.27 billion, the amount accepted resulted in a funding shortfall of GH¢1.07 billion, representing an under-subscription of 20.2%.
The 91-day Treasury bill continued to account for the largest share of investor demand, attracting bids worth GH¢2.26 billion, all of which were accepted by the government.
The 182-day bill recorded bids of GH¢802.87 million, with the government accepting the full amount tendered.
Meanwhile, investors submitted GH¢1.15 billion for the 364-day bill, and the government accepted all the bids received, indicating no rejections across any of the three tenors.
Yields went up across the curve. The yield on the 91-day bill edged up 26 basis points to 5.30 % from 5.04% in the previous auction.
The 182-day bill also increased 5 basis points to 7.13% from 7.08%, while the 364-day bill rose 39 points to 11.36% from 10.97%.
The outcome suggests that investor appetite for government securities weakened considerably despite the government accepting all bids submitted.
Looking ahead, the government plans to raise GH¢4.60 billion through its next auction.
