With the sale of treasury bills in August 2025, the Debt Management Office (DMO) brought N477 billion, somewhat less than the N491.8 billion collected in July.
A three per cent month-on-month drop of N14.78 billion indicates either a reduction in the government’s short-term borrowing requirements or modifications in the auction timetable.
Along with treasury bill sales, the DMO raised N136.16 billion from Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds, a significant 26.8 per cent decrease compared to July produced the N185.9 billion. Although volumes were lower, demand for these government-backed assets stayed high. Highlighting ongoing investor confidence in sovereign instruments, treasury bills were oversubscribed by more than 142 percent and FGN Bonds saw an oversubscription rate of over 34%.
The News Chronicle learnt that the continuous fascination in these bonds points to their dual appeal of attractive yields and safety. Market watchers claim that the steady oversubscription indicates that government debt remains a safe haven for investors, ranging from institutional players to high-net-worth individuals, amid broader economic uncertainty.
Selling N2.1 trillion in bills, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) concurrently stayed engaged in the open market operations (OMO) sector. From N2.8 trillion in July, this, however, signaled a sharp drop of 24.16 per cent, a loss of some N676 billion. Investor interest, however, was far from dampened; OMO bills were oversubscribed by a remarkable 267 per cent, therefore highlighting their usefulness for liquidity management and yield maximization.
Apart from sovereign debt, activity slowed down noticeably. On the FMDQ Exchange, there were no new non-sovereign bond listings or redemptions, hence the outstanding value of such assets stayed at N2.2 trillion.
Commercial Paper (CP) activity was hit even more sharply. Quoted CPs on the FMDQ Exchange dropped by 86.28%, going from N317.9 billion in July. to only N43.6 billion in August. Only seven new CPs were released during the period; the financial services industry ruled the market. Analysts believe this fall indicates a prudent slowdown in near-term corporate borrowing driven by fluctuating interest rate expectations and market volatility.
