The sale of weekly treasury bills to domestic investors fell short of its target by approximately GHS 700 million.
The reduction in the auction of these short-term instruments is largely attributed to the government’s decision to keep yields stable in recent weeks to reduce the cost of servicing the debt instruments going forward.
The treasury bills market recorded an undersubscription at the latest auction. The government missed its target after securing GHS 4.06 billion against a target of GHS 4.78 billion.
Although the majority of the bids came from the 91-day bill, the GHS 2.4 billion tendered and accepted under the three-month short instrument was lower than the GHS 2.9 billion tendered and accepted the previous week.
The government also received and accepted total bids worth GHS 1.18 billion from investors for the 182-day bill. For the 364-day bill, the government accepted all the bids tendered, totaling GHS 477 million.
Overall, the total amount sold at this auction saw an undersubscription by about 19 percent as interest rates continued to remain stable on the money market, averaging between 24 and 27 percent.
Market analysts suggest that the undersubscription is mainly due to the significantly higher auction target.
Looking ahead, the government plans to lower its borrowing target to GHS 3.86 billion in the next treasury bill auction.
