There are indications that N200.9 billion Open Market Operation (OMO) maturity will buoy system liquidity and bring moderation to interbank rates. According to one dealer, “in the coming week, we expect an OMO maturity of N200.9 billion to buoy system liquidity. The week started with sell-offs across long dated instruments as average rate (across three benchmarks tracked by Afrinvest) rose 3bps to 17.0 per cent. However, performance was reversed on Tuesday as average rate fell 16bps to 16.8 per cent after the National Assembly granted the FGN’s request to raise external debt to refinance expensive T-bills. Accordingly, dealers said the Apex Bank allotted N6.0 billion apiece for the 91-day and 182-day instruments while N107.9 billion was allotted for the 364-day instruments at previous stop rates of 13.0 per cent, 15.3 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively.

Source: Nigerian Tribune November 20, 2017 02:26 UTC