Subscription of Treasury Bills fell short of the Sh24 billion offered by Central Bank of Kenya during last week’s auction.
CBK received bids worth Sh20.9 billion for the three, six-month and one-year government paper against an advertised amount of Sh24.0 billion.
“The Treasury bill auction of September 26 received bids totaling KSh 20.9 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 24.0 billion, representing a performance of 87.2 percent. Interest rate on the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills remained relatively stable,” CBK noted in its weekly bulletin.
This was a slight decline compared to the previous week when the government received 19 bids worth Sh30.3 billion, representing a performance of 126.4 percent.
Uptake of the government securities during the month of September was relatively stable, hitting a monthly high of Sh38.9 billion against an advertised amount of Sh24.0 billion during the September 5 auction and Sh21.3 billion during the September 12 auction.
Additionally, Bond turnover in the domestic secondary market increased by 2.9 percent during the week ending September 26.
“In the international market, yields on Kenya’s Eurobonds decreased by an average of 62.07 basis points. However, yields on the 10- Year Eurobonds for Angola and Zambia increased,” CBK stated.
The Kenya Shilling remained stable against major international and regional currencies during the week ending September 26. It exchanged at Sh129.19 per US dollar on September 26, compared to Sh129.20 per US dollar on September 19.
Liquidity in the money market remained adequate during the week, supported by open market operations while commercial banks’ excess reserves stood at Sh12.4 billion in relation to the 4.25 percent cash reserves requirement (CRR).
During the week, the average interbank rate increased to 12.75 percent compared to 12.70 percent on September 19.
The average number of interbank deals decreased to 42 from 45 in the previous week, while the average value traded decreased to Sh19.5 billion from Sh26.7 billion in the previous week.
The usable foreign exchange reserves remained adequate at USD 8.027 billion (4.1 months of import cover) as of September 26, meeting the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavour to maintain at least 4 months of import cover.
