Government to borrow ¢12.7bn via T-bills in January 2024
The government is seeking to borrow ¢12.7 billion via treasury bills in January 2024, to finance maturing bills.
This is 1.2% lower than that of December 2023.
Already, the government has raised ¢3.223 billion in the first auction of 2024, 15.24% more than the targeted amount.
Based on the prevailing strong demand at an average of ¢4.0 billion per week, analysts expect the authorities to comfortably refinance the upcoming maturities.
However, there are likely to be higher targets to finance the 2024 budget deficit and buffer for February 2024 coupon payments on the restructured bonds.
T-bills demand surged in December 2023
Demand for treasury bills remained generally strong in December 2023.
Investors submitted total bids of ¢16.3 billion across the T-bills, representing an average weekly bid size of ¢4.0 billion and exceeding the total maturities of ¢12.8 billion.
The government accepted all bids tendered due to the high funding need for maturity refinancing.
Yields outturn was mixed in December 2023
Meanwhile, the yields outturn was mixed in December 2023 as downward pressure from the sharp disinflation offset the upward pressure from the increase in Cash Reserve Ratio.
The 91-day and the 364-day yields respectively trimmed 14 basis points and 74 basis points month-on-month to 29.4% and 32.5% while the 182-day yield gained 19 basis points to 31.9%.