Fixed-income trading surges to N10.5trn as OMO Bills dominate market

Trading activity in Nigeria’s fixed-income market strengthened last week, with transactions rising to N10.51tn as investors continued to position around relatively attractive yields.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the face value of transactions for the week ended August 21, 2026, climbed from N8.09tn recorded in the preceding week.

The latest figure represents an increase of about N2.41tn, or 29.8 per cent, within one week.

Open Market Operations bills remained the dominant instrument, accounting for N7.63tn, representing 72.6 per cent of total transactions. This was an increase from the N6.01tn recorded in OMO transactions a week earlier.

Treasury Bills ranked second, with transactions valued at N1.46tn, representing 13.9 per cent of the market. Federal Government bonds followed closely with N1.41tn, or 13.4 per cent.

Sukuk accounted for the smallest portion of activity, with transactions worth N8.03bn, compared with N12bn recorded in the previous week.

Market participation also increased during the period. A total of 2,512 trades were executed across OMO bills, Treasury Bills, FGN bonds and Sukuk, compared with 2,022 transactions recorded a week earlier.

OMO bills accounted for the largest number of deals, with 1,064 transactions, up from 920 in the previous week. FGN bonds recorded 800 trades, more than double the 326 deals executed previously.

Treasury Bills recorded 642 transactions, down from 773, while Sukuk transactions increased from three to six.

The CBN dashboard showed that 29 participants operated in the fixed-income market during the week. OMO and Treasury Bills attracted 26 participants each, while 22 participated in FGN bonds and three in Sukuk transactions.

The increased trading activity came amid varied movements in yields across different instruments and maturities.

OMO yields closed at 21.76 per cent at the shorter tenor before easing to 19.87 per cent at the one-year maturity.

Treasury Bills posted closing yields of 16.84 per cent and 20.76 per cent across the maturities captured in the market data, reflecting stronger yields at the longer end.

FGN bond yields also varied across the curve, ranging from about 14.70 per cent to 17.82 per cent.

Longer-dated bonds recorded relatively lower yields, with the 27-year tenor closing at 14.70 per cent. The 23-year and 19-year maturities closed at 15.25 per cent and 15.98 per cent respectively.

At the shorter end of the bond market, the one-year tenor closed at 17.10 per cent, while the two-year instrument recorded a yield of 17.08 per cent.

The latest market figures indicate that OMO bills continue to attract the bulk of fixed-income trading, while investors remain active across government securities as they seek opportunities amid changing yield levels.