Nigeria auctions 142 bln naira treasury bills at lower yields

Nigeria sold 142.43 billion naira ($715.73 million) worth of three-month to one-year treasury bills on Wednesday, at lower returns than in its previous auction, the central bank said on Thursday.
The bank raised 32.43 billion naira of three-month paper at 4.85 percent, down from 4.95 percent at a sale on Feb. 3.
The bank sold 30 billion naira of six-month debt at 7.3 percent against 7.97 percent, while it sold 80 billion naira of one-year paper at 8.98 percent compared with 9.49 percent.
Total subscription rose to 513.71 billion naira from 400.82 billion naira at the previous auction.
The 3-month bills closed at 3.50 percent on the secondary market on Wednesday, the 6-month traded at 7.08 percent while the one year paper closed at 9.29 percent.
Africa's biggest economy issue treasury bills to banks and non-financial institutions to help ease government cash flow, manage banking system liquidity and curb inflation.