The Government of Ghana raised or borrowed ¢7.148 billion via the sale of Treasury bills in August 2022, about 39.70% more than its target.

It was hoping to borrow ¢5.117 billion to largely refinance maturing debts.

However, the rising interest rates deepen investor interest in then short-term securities.

The yield on the 91-day Treasury bills increased to 28.61% at the end of August 2022 (+227 basis points).

The clearing rates for 182-day and 364- day maturities were however 29.94% (+188 basis points) and 29.52% (+167bps) respectively.

Meanwhile, the government will this week raise ¢1.682 billion across the 91-day to 182-day Treasury bills.

The funds will be used to refinance total maturities worth ¢1.567 billion.

Due to increased sovereign risk, investors reduced their exposure to Government of Ghana bonds, increasing demand for T-bills.

Treasury exceeded target marginally last week

The Treasury exceeded its target for last week’s T-bill auction with a target-coverage ratio of 1.03, raising ¢1.776 billion.

The Treasury accepted all bids with a discount rate quote of 26.50%-27.47% for the 91-day, 25.33%-26.84% for the 182-day, and 22.50%-23.20% for the 364-day.

The 91-day bill cleared at 29.05% (+43bps), with the 182-day and 364-day bills settling at 30.23% (+29bps) and 30.02% (+49bps).

T-bills sale begun the year with a yield of 12.52% for the 91-day bill and 13.19% for the 182-day.

Government was expected to borrow ¢4.59 billion as fresh funds in the second quarter of this year to finance part of its budget.

This was higher than the ¢3.78 billion borrowed in the first three months of 2022.

Chunk of the monies were expected to have come from the 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills.