Ghana’s latest treasury bill auction has fallen short of the government’s target by GH¢1.53 billion, with the government accepting GH¢3.48 billion in bids against its GH¢5.01 billion target.
The amount accepted represents approximately 69.5% of the target, leaving a significant funding gap as investors showed varying levels of interest across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day treasury bills.
The latest auction results also showed mixed movements in yields. Rates on the 91-day and 182-day bills increased slightly, while the yield on the 364-day instrument declined.
The 91-day treasury bill attracted the highest volume of bids, with investors tendering GH¢2.94 billion. The government accepted GH¢2.20 billion, while the yield edged up to 4.62% from 4.60% in the previous auction.
For the 182-day bill, investors submitted bids totalling GH¢1.11 billion. The government accepted GH¢692 million, and the yield increased to 6.31% from 6.28%.
The 364-day treasury bill attracted GH¢1.12 billion in bids, but the government accepted only GH¢587 million. Its yield fell to 9.71% from 9.75%, making it the only one of the three instruments to record a decline in yield.
The results show that the government accepted less than the amount investors offered across all three tenors. The 91-day bill accounted for the largest share of accepted bids, while the 364-day instrument recorded the highest yield despite the marginal decline.
Treasury bills allow the government to raise short-term funds from investors to meet its financing needs. The government typically uses auctions to determine how much it can borrow and the interest rates it must offer across different maturities.
The shortfall in the latest auction means the government raised less than its stated target through the exercise. However, the auction results alone do not establish the reason for the gap or indicate whether the government will seek to raise the difference through other financing options.
For investors, the mixed yield movements highlight differences in returns across the three maturities. The 91-day bill offers a shorter investment period at 4.62%, while the 364-day bill carries a higher yield of 9.71% over a longer term.
The government is targeting GH¢3.80 billion in its next treasury bill auction. Investors and market watchers will be monitoring the results to assess demand for government securities and movements in yields.
