The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Weekly Treasury Bills Auction underperformed for the first time in 8 months.
- This is after the state fiscal agent accepted bids worth KSh 23.3 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 24 billion offered at the spot market.
- In August 2023, CBK received bids totaling KSh 23 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 24 billion, representing a performance of 95.8%.
- The CBK accepted KSh 20.4 billion at this auction, the last such underperformance recorded last year.
Bids received by the fiscal agent at this week’s auction amounted to KSh 23.6 billion, a performance rate of 98.2%, with the monetary authority accepting KSh 23.2 billion and rejecting KSh 400 million.
The most attractive instrument remained the 91-day treasury bill, which received bids worth KSh 5.9 billion out of KSh 4 billion worth of bills offered. The CBK accepted bids worth KSh 5.7 billion and rejected KSh 200 million and offered investors an interest rate of 15.8%. This is lower than the 16% and above offered by the monetary authority in previous auctions.
The least attractive instrument was the 6-month treasury bills which received bids worth KSh 6.93 billion out of KSh 10 billion offered with the fiscal accepting KSh 6.92 billion.
The one-year T-Bills received bids worth KSh 10.6 billion out of KSh 10 billion offered with the fiscal accepting the entire amount, a performance rate of 106.44% with successful bidders receiving a return of 16.49%.
For the past few weeks, the CBK has been driving down interest rates offered to investors at the primary auction, a development that has led to many foreign investors giving the auction a wide berth.
ALSO READ: CBK Accepts Bids Worth KSh 45.7 Bn at Weekly T-Bills Auction
