The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to issue a fresh round of Open Market Operations (OMO) bills in a bid to manage excess liquidity, as the financial system braces for an estimated ₦784 billion in maturing instruments and government disbursements this week.
According to market sources, the apex bank is closely monitoring the liquidity situation to prevent inflationary pressures and currency volatility, especially in the wake of recent naira gains and capital market fluctuations.
The anticipated inflows are largely attributed to maturing treasury bills and expected statutory allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), which have the potential to create a temporary liquidity glut in the banking sector.
“The CBN is expected to conduct an OMO auction to sterilize the expected liquidity and maintain monetary stability,” one fixed-income trader told The Business Desk. “Yields could move higher if demand is tepid, but a robust auction could keep market rates steady.”
Analysts say the move is consistent with the CBN’s tightening stance aimed at reining in inflation, which, though showing signs of slowing, remains above the central bank’s comfort zone. As of August 2025, headline inflation stood at 22.4%, down marginally from 22.7% in July.
The OMO issuance is also likely to support the naira, which has recently appreciated to ₦1,110/$1 in the official window, buoyed by increased FX supply and investor inflows into local debt markets.
Investors will be watching closely for the tenor and yield guidance on the upcoming OMO bills, which could influence short-term trading dynamics and interbank rates.
This latest OMO issuance reinforces the CBN’s return to more orthodox liquidity management tools after months of unconventional policy experimentation under previous leadership.
More details on the auction expected later this week will be released through the apex bank’s official communication channels.
Leave a Reply