CBN plans to Sell N1.2trn Treasury Bills in 1st quarter of 2016

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to raise a total of N1.22 trillion from treasury bills sale in the first quarter of 2016.

The central bank said it would auction N245.77 billion worth of 91-day bills and N238.51 billion worth of 182-day paper between December 17 this year and March 3, 2016. In addition, it would sell N735.54 billion worth of 364-day treasury bills in the same first quarter of next year.

The apex bank issues treasury bills regularly as part of monetary control measures to help manage the volume of liquidity in the system and also to checkmate inflation.

The Monetary Policy Committee had noted at its last meeting the continued moderation in month-on-month inflation and reaffirmed its commitment to price stability, stressing the need for complementary supply side policies as part of an overall strategy to lock-in inflation expectations.

Broad money supply (M2) in the country contracted by 3.75 per cent in October, 2015, over the level at end-December, 2014. Also, annualized, M2 declined by 4.5 per cent, which was significantly below the growth benchmark of 15.24 per cent for 2015.

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