Cassiel Ato Forson
The government fell short if its Treasury Bill target for the third time this year missing it by GH¢2.69 billion representing a 7.59% undersubscription.
Overall, the government got GH¢4.05 billion from the sale of the short-term instruments as against a target of GH¢4.39 billion with majority of the bids coming from the 91-day bill.
The government, however, rejecting GH¢2.37 billion in bids, according to auction results by the Bank of Ghana for the short-term instruments.
About GH¢3.380 billion representing 83% of the total bids came from the 3.0 months bill. The government only accepted GH¢1.44 billion of the bids.
For the 182-day bill, only GH¢501.17 million were tendered. The uptake was GH¢81.09 million. A little over GH¢176 million were tendered for the 364-day bill, with the government accepting GH¢161 million of the bids.
Meanwhile, interest rates continued to fall on the yield curve. The yield on the 91-day T-bill declined by only 7.0 basis points to 15.64%. The 182-day bill also dropped to 16.50% from the previous 16.70%.
The rate on the 364-day bill also declined marginally to 18.83%.
While the Treasury’s sustained bid rejections and efforts to moderate yields may seem at odds with the MPC’s hawkish stance, analysts see it as a move to anchor short-term rates, support liquidity sterilisation, and reset Treasury bills as a benchmark for upcoming longer-dated issuances.
However, continued rejections risk drawing down cash buffers, potentially tightening fiscal space in the near term. In the next auction, the Treasury aims to raise GH¢6.68 billion.
A Business Desk Report