The Central Bank of Nigeria sold ₦2.628 trillion worth of Open Market Operations bills at its October 22, 2026 auction, ₦628.52 billion or 31.43 per cent above its initial ₦2 trillion offer, as stop rates rose across both tenors, a sign that rate increases may have resumed.
The CBN’s auction results showed that investors submitted bids worth ₦2.728 trillion, which is 1.36 times the amount first offered.
The 180-day bill drew the largest share of demand and allotments, while the shorter 138-day bill was undersubscribed even though it recorded a higher stop rate.
The CBN allotted ₦1.773 trillion to the 180-day OMO bill, well above the ₦1 trillion initially offered for that tenor. The instrument drew subscriptions of ₦1.853 trillion, or 1.85 times its offer.
The 138-day bill attracted subscriptions of ₦875.24 billion, below its ₦1 trillion offer, and the CBN allotted ₦855.24 billion.
The 180-day bill cleared at a stop rate of 17.14 per cent and matures on April 20, 2027.
The 138-day bill cleared at a higher stop rate of 17.63 per cent and matures on March 9, 2027.
The CBN accepted about 96.35 per cent of total bids by value, leaving ₦99.54 billion unallotted.
The longer bill made up about 67.92 per cent of total subscriptions.
The 138-day stop rate was 49 basis points above the 180-day rate, showing that the shorter instrument cleared at a higher rate despite weaker subscription demand.
Bids on the 180-day bill ranged from 16.79 per cent to 18.88 per cent, a spread of 209 basis points.
Bids on the 138-day bill ranged from 17.18 per cent to 17.72 per cent, a narrower range of submitted rates.
The October 22 auction recorded higher stop rates than the previous OMO sale on October 6, when the CBN allotted about ₦3.31 trillion against an initial ₦2 trillion offer.
The earlier auction cleared at 17.22 per cent for the 147-day bill and 16.92 per cent for the 182-day bill, both lower than the rates recorded on September 29.
The latest 138-day stop rate of 17.63 per cent was 41 basis points above the October 6 rate for the 147-day bill.
The 180-day stop rate of 17.14 per cent was about 20 basis points above the previous 182-day rate.
The September 29 auction recorded stop rates of 17.24 per cent and 16.94 per cent for the comparable shorter and longer instruments.
At the October 14 Treasury bill auction, the 364-day stop rate rose by five basis points to 15.90 per cent, its first increase since August.
Although the tenors are not identical, the comparison suggests that the recent downward movement in OMO stop rates has paused.
OMO auction rates had fallen after the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced a 350-basis-point rate cut in September. However, the October 22 results show higher stop rates, suggesting that rate increases may have resumed.
The latest OMO sale comes against a backdrop of heavy banking system liquidity and maturing CBN securities. The Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) projected ₦2.067 trillion in OMO maturities for the week beginning October 19.
The ₦2.628 trillion allotted on October 22 exceeded that projected maturity amount by about ₦562 billion in face value.
Banks’ placements at the CBN’s Standing Deposit Facility stayed above ₦6 trillion between October 14 and October 16, after OMO repayment of about ₦2.41 trillion on October 13.
In September, the CBN sold about ₦17.51 trillion in OMO bills against ₦10.89 trillion in maturities, a net face-value withdrawal of about ₦6.62 trillion.
The latest sale is another instance of the CBN allotting more securities than its original offer.
The new securities add to the volume of OMO bills maturing in March and April 2027.
With stop rates rising despite heavy banking system liquidity, subsequent auctions will give further indications of whether investors continue to demand higher rates or whether stronger demand pushes accepted rates lower.
