RFA Breakfast Paper - August 13, 2026
CBN Lifts One-Year T-Bill Rate to 17.59%
The Central Bank of Nigeria raised the stop rate on its 364-day Treasury bill by 24 basis points to 17.59% at Wednesday's auction, reversing the 31bp cut delivered on 29 July. Demand was overwhelming: investors bid ₦4.19 trillion against ₦500 billion offered on the one-year paper, part of ₦4.4 trillion of total bids across three tenors versus ₦700 billion advertised, yet the apex bank allotted ₦1.26 trillion and paid up rather than clearing lower. The 91-day and 182-day rates held at 16.30% and 16.50%respectively. The hike follows a week of heavy system liquidity, including a ₦2.48 trillion OMO repayment on 11 August, and suggests the CBN is using the auction as a sterilisation tool alongside its funding programme. With one-year yields now roughly 170bp above June headline inflation of 15.91%, the outcome complicates market pricing of a first cut at the September MPC.
U.S. Stocks Hit Records as Inflation Cools
U.S. equities closed at record highs on Thursday after softer-than-expected wholesale inflation reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will stay on hold. The S&P 500 added 0.65% to a record 7,798.99, clearing 7,800 intraday for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.81% to 26,803.03 and the Dow edged up 0.13% to 53,839.99. Treasuries rallied, with the 10-year yield down 4.1bps to 4.641%. Workday jumped 17.8% on results; Tapestry fell 16.5% and Cisco 8.4%.
Profit-Taking Extends NGX Losing Streak
The Nigerian equities market fell for a third consecutive session on Thursday, with the All-Share Index down 0.23% to 243,416.59 and market capitalisation ₦613.09 billion lighter at ₦156.88 trillion. Breadth was firmly negative at 0.39x as 16 stocks advanced against 41 decliners and 90 unchanged, with International Energy Insurance up 10.00% leading gainers and Unilever Nigeria down 9.97% pacing losers. Activity nonetheless picked up sharply: turnover more than doubled to ₦50.65 billion from ₦20.94 billion and volume rose 191% to 4.24 billion shares across 41,454 deals, pointing to repositioning rather than broad capitulation.
