T-bills auction: Government got GH¢21.5bn in November 2024, lower than target

Total bids received for treasury bills auction in November 2024 was estimated at GH¢21.5 billion.

This fell short of the government’s gross target of GH¢22.8 billion.

The government allotted all bids to exceed the refinancing obligation by 8.3%. However, it fell short of the target by 5.5% with a sustained risk of the uncovered auction in December 2024 as refinancing obligation jumps to GH¢26.1 billion.

Importantly, investor demand for the T-bills increased by 27.2% month-on-month in November 2024 but remained insufficient to fully cover the high auction target for the month under review.

Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, yields remained on the uptrend in November 2024, averaging 90 basis points (bps) across the T-bills with renewed near-term inflation uncertainty and persistent Treasury borrowing pressure as the main drivers.

The 91-day yield climbed the steepest (+100bps) to 27.2%, the 182-day (28.0%) and the 364-day yields (29.8%) also gained 70bps and 85bps, respectively.

For investors with higher preference for liquidity and fair return, analysts tipped the 182-day tenor since the 364-day yield does not offer adequate cushion against its duration risk.