A Bullish Bonds Trend coincides with a sleepy T-bills Market

 

By Zedcrest Partners ltd

 

Bonds

The Bond market opened the week on an active note, with bullish sentiments supported by investor demand following the CBN’s directive on OMO Bills as well as coupon payments of c.N41bn credited today. Yields dropped by an average of c.12bps across the benchmark yield curve, with the most significant interest in the 2049s paper.

 

We expect bullish sentiments to linger, as bonds remain a viable fixed income alternative in light of current OMO restrictions.

 

Treasury Bills

The T-bills market had a quiet opening to the week, as the market readjusted to the CBN’s directive on OMO bills issued the previous week. Primary market-issued NTBills remained the ‘safe zone’ of tradable securities, as we noted interest on these maturities albeit with very little volumes passed. Quoted spreads across the benchmark NTBills widened for a second consecutive session, reflecting participants’ apathy to available rates.

 

We expect this stalemate in the secondary market to persist in the interim as investor redirect their focus to the primary auction scheduled for later this week.

 

Money Market

Money market rates opened the trading week c.150bps lower from last week’s close, despite the Wholesale FX funding provision made by banks. OBB and OVN rates closed at 4.29% and 5.00% respectively.

 

We expect rates to remain in the single-digit corridor, with no funding pressure expected tomorrow.

 

FX Market

At the interbank, the Naira/USD spot rates depreciated by 5k to close at N307.00/$ at end of the first trade session of the week trading, while the SMIS rates remained unchanged at N358.13/$. The I&E FX window appreciated by 2k to close at N362.09$.

The Naira remained stable at the parallel markets, as both the cash and transfer rates closed unchanged at N358.00/$ and N362.50/$ respectively.

 

Eurobonds

The NIGERIA Sovereigns continued its bullish run from last week, with buyers noted across most of the sovereign paper. Yields dropped by an average of c.4bps across the sovereign curve, with the highest gain noted on the 2023 paper (+11bps).

 

The NIGERIA Corps papers traded with mixed sentiments in the week’s opening session. Demand was noted on the UBANL 2022 paper which dropped by 9bps, while the SEPPLN 2023s weakened by 6bps.

Contact us:

Dealing Desk: 01-6311667 Email: research@zedcrestcapital.com

Disclaimer:

Whilst proper and reasonable care has been taken in the preparation and accuracy of the facts and figures presented in this report, no responsibility or liability is accepted by Zedcrest Capital or its employees for any error, omission or opinion expressed herein. This report is not a piece of investment advice or a research recommendation and should not be regarded as such. The information provided herein is by no means intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision

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