Investors favour 364-day treasury bill as bids hit GH¢474m

Investors showed strong demand for the government’s 364-day Treasury bill in the latest domestic debt auction, submitting bids worth about GH¢474 million.

The government, however, accepted GH¢224.35 million of the amount offered, with interest rates on the accepted bids ranging from 8.8 per cent to 11.4 per cent. Most of the successful bids were concentrated between 8.9 per cent and 9.8 per cent.

Data from the Bank of Ghana showed that the 182-day Treasury bill was the next most sought-after instrument, attracting bids valued at GH¢235.9 million.

Of that amount, the government accepted GH¢153.69 million. The 182-day bill carried an interest rate of 6.12 per cent, a discount rate of 6.10 per cent and an effective interest rate of 6.30 per cent.

The 91-day Treasury bill also attracted investor interest, although demand was lower compared with the longer-dated instruments.

Overall, investors submitted bids totalling approximately GH¢2.9 billion across the instruments offered, while the government accepted about GH¢1.7 billion.

The results indicate particularly strong demand for the longer-term Treasury bills, with the 364-day instrument recording the highest bid value, followed by the 182-day bill.

However, the amounts accepted for both instruments were significantly below the total bids submitted, indicating that the government did not take up the full value of investor offers.