T-bills: Government falls short of target by GH¢2.8bn

For the first time this year, the government has fallen short of its Treasury bill target, missing it by GH¢2.8 billion.

Data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) shows that the government aimed to raise GH¢6.14 billion from short-term instruments but received bids totaling GH¢3.32 billion, representing a 45% undersubscription.

Despite the shortfall, authorities rejected GH¢1.67 billion in bids.

A breakdown of the auction results reveals that out of GH¢3.6 billion tendered for the 91-day Treasury bill, GH¢2.33 billion was accepted. The 182-day bill attracted GH¢741 million in bids, with GH¢574 million accepted. For the 364-day bill, GH¢622 million was tendered, but only GH¢406 million was accepted.

Meanwhile, interest rates on Treasury bills remained stable, ranging between 15% and 18%. The 91-day bill dipped by 15 basis points to 15.73% from last week’s 15.88%. The 182-day bill was unchanged at 16.93%, while the 364-day bill saw an 87-basis point increase to 18.85% from 17.98%.

Market analysts believe the undersubscription was expected, given the gradual decline in bids over the past two weeks. This suggests the market is approaching a yield equilibrium as demand and supply stabilise.

In the next auction, the Treasury aims to raise GH¢5.64 billion.