Last week’s Treasury bill auction recorded a sharp dip in investor participation, with the government missing its funding target by about GH¢2.11 billion.

Data from the Bank of Ghana shows that the Treasury accepted bids worth GH¢3.46 billion, well below the GH¢5.58 billion it had set out to raise, a shortfall of roughly 37.5%.

Breaking it down, the bulk of demand was concentrated in the 91-day bill, where nearly all of the GH¢2.66 billion tendered was accepted.

Cedi trades at GH¢12.40 to $1 on the interbank exchange market

The 182-day bill also saw strong uptake, with GH¢695 million accepted out of GH¢705 million submitted.

Meanwhile, the 364-day note cleared GH¢116 million out of the GH¢119 million tendered.

Analysts attribute the undersubscription mainly to tight liquidity within commercial banks.

This followed the Bank of Ghana’s open market operation, which drained nearly GH¢19 billion from the system just before the auction.

In addition, a persistent lukewarm appetite for T-bills continues to weigh on demand.

The funding shortfall nudged yields slightly higher across all tenors. The 91-day bill yield rose by 5 basis points to 10.50%, the 182-day gained 3 basis points to 12.39%, while the 364-day inched up 1 basis point to 12.89%.

Looking ahead, the government aims to raise GH¢3.71 billion in the upcoming auction.

SA/MA

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