Investor interest in Ghana’s Treasury bill (T-bill) soared last week, with demand more than doubling to GH₵6,126.41 million from GH₵2,967.87 million in the previous auction.
Despite the increase, the government’s auction fell short of its GH₵7,525.00 million target, resulting in an 18.59% undersubscription.
According to results from the Bank of Ghana’s latest Treasury auction, nearly all 91-day and 182-day bids were accepted, while only a small portion of 364-day offers were cleared.
Specifically, 97.94% of 91-day bids and 98.68% of 182-day bids were accepted, compared to just 6.31% for the one-year paper.
Yields edge up slightly
The yield on the 91-day Treasury bill increased by 9 basis points to 14.66%, while the 182-day bill saw a modest 1 basis point rise to 15.03%.
The 364-day bill, however, recorded a significant 25 basis points increase, pushing its yield to 15.42%.
These upward movements in yields come amid growing investor appetite for short-term instruments, driven by attractive risk-adjusted returns and monetary policy expectations.
Secondary market activity rises sharply
In the secondary market, activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) witnessed a sharp jump in trading volumes, rising by 58.9% to GH₵3.3 billion for the week under review.
Trading was dominated by newly issued Government of Ghana (GoG) notes and bonds, which made up 63.94% of the volume. Treasury bills accounted for 19.68%, corporate bonds contributed 12.00%, and sell-buy-back trades represented 4.18% of total activity.
Cedi mixed against major currencies
On the currency front, the Ghanaian Cedi depreciated by 0.77% against the US Dollar, ending the week at GH₵10.4000/$, although it still maintains a year-to-date (YTD) appreciation of 41.35%.
The Cedi, however, appreciated by 0.28% against the British Pound, closing at GH₵14.0489/£, while posting a YTD gain of 30.98%.
Against the Euro, the Cedi lost 0.30%, settling at GH₵12.1625/€, with a 25.09% gain so far this year, based on Bank of Ghana interbank rates.
Indicative open market rates at the close of the week stood at GH₵10.55/$, GH₵14.36/£, and GH₵12.43/€.
Stock market extends gains
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) closed the week on a high, with the GSE Composite Index gaining 1.22% to close at 6,424.90 points, translating into a YTD return of 31.43%.
The weekly gain was powered by strong performances from financial and petroleum sector stocks.
Total Petroleum Ghana Ltd. (TOTAL) jumped 9.92% to GH₵33.25, pushing its YTD return to 153.53%. Other top gainers included Republic Bank Ghana Ltd. (RBGH), up 9.72% to GH₵0.79; Access Bank Ghana PLC (ACCESS), which rose 9.63% to GH₵16.39; and Ghana Oil Company Ltd. (GOIL), up 2.50% to GH₵2.05.
MTN Ghana (MTNGH) also posted a 1.01% gain to end at GH₵3.01, while Ecobank Ghana Ltd. (EGH) edged up 0.46% to GH₵8.74. NewGold ETF (GLD) gained 1.74% to GH₵360.98, although it remains negative for the year at -7.56%.
On the downside, GCB Bank Ltd. (GCB) was the biggest loser, falling 4.43% to GH₵9.47, despite a strong YTD return of 48.67%.
Market activity dips sharply
Trading volume on the equities market plummeted by 98.59%, with total shares traded dropping from 255.39 million to just 3.6 million.
Value traded during the week stood at approximately GH₵15.7 million.
Market analysts at Tesah Capital expect that financial stocks and the ICT sector will continue to be pivotal in driving index performance in the upcoming week, with investor focus shifting to earnings releases and mid-year economic data.
