The central bank in Africa’s copper hotspot Zambia sold K483million ($34million equivalent) in treasury bills in Thursday 29 August debt sale. With K950million on offer, K541million bids amassed of which 89% were absorbed mainly in the 1 year tenor at 27.5%.
Yields across the spectrum were unchanged with zero interest recorded in the 6 months tenor. Re-investments by commercial banks remain the key drivers of subscription for players looking to reprice their holdings in government securities. This auction was the 17 undersubscribed offering of the 18 debt sales in the year 2019.
Risk premiums above inflation narrowed 50bps after August CPI widened to a 3 year high to 9.3% on the back of drought effects on food and non food prices.
Interest in the 1 year tenor remains solid as players seek for a risk yield trade off in duration.
Compiled by BT Research Team
