Breaking: CBN sells another N804.85 billion in OMO bills hit 111% subscription  

The auction attracted total subscriptions worth N1.057 trillion, representing a 111% oversubscription. Although strong, the demand was slightly lower than the previous auction held on April 25, 2025, where the CBN raised N1.008 trillion from N1.391 trillion in subscriptions after offering the two N500 billion bills.

In the latest auction, the CBN offered two long-tenor instruments—329-day and 350-day bills—each at N250 billion. The results revealed a sharp contrast in investor demand between both maturities, with investors overwhelmingly favouring the longer 350-day paper in their bid to lock in higher returns for a longer duration, signalling continued confidence in Nigeria’s sovereign debt and expectations of sustained high interest rates.

This auction follows a blockbuster sale on Friday, April 25, 2025, where the CBN offered N500 billion across two maturities and ended up raising N1.008 trillion following a 102% oversubscription. The previous auction’s longer tenor—the 319-day bill—was the most sought-after, and its momentum appears to have carried over into the current auction.

Inflation in Nigeria remains stubbornly high. Headline inflation surged to 24.23% in March 2025 from 23.18% in February, with month-on-month inflation spiking by 3.90%—almost double the rate recorded a month earlier. This elevated inflation, driven by soaring food prices, transport costs, and energy tariffs, continues to erode consumer purchasing power and complicate monetary policy implementation.

OMO auctions have therefore become an essential liquidity sterilisation tool, helping the CBN to absorb excess cash and anchor market interest rates. Through these auctions, the central bank signals its monetary policy direction while guiding yield expectations and dampening speculative activity in the currency and equity markets.

With another Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on the horizon, market participants will closely watch whether the central bank adjusts rates further or maintains its current course.