T-Bill Tumble: Gov’t Falls Short for 3rd Time but Snubs GH¢2.3bn in Lowball Bids

For the third week running, the Government of Ghana has failed to hit its treasury bill auction target, sparking fresh questions about market confidence and investor appetite. Despite the miss, the government made a bold statement by rejecting a whopping GH¢2.3 billion in bids it deemed unattractive—signaling a firm stance on borrowing terms. This calculated move suggests a balancing act between fiscal prudence and the need for liquidity as the country works to steady its economic footing. Analysts say the trend could affect short-term interest rates and investor expectations going forward.

The government missed its treasury bill target for the third consecutive time this year as investor demand for the short-term instruments diminished.

According to auction results by the Bank of Ghana, the Treasury rejected a little over GH¢2.3 billion of the total bids despite recording 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.

The majority of the bids came from the 91-day bill.

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%.