Central bank of Kenya. Photo/businesstoday
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that the 91, 182 and 364-day T-bill auctions last week resulted in bids of just Sh8.6 billion, equivalent to just a third of the Sh24 billion offered.For the six-month and one year papers, interest rates edged up on lower subscriptions of 42 and 16 per cent respectively, while the rate came down on the three month T-bill, which also had the best subscription rate at 56 per cent.“The effects of the liquidity environment were felt on the T-bills with total subscriptions down to Sh8 billion against an offered amount of Sh24 billion.The 91-day moved down marginally to 8.205 per cent, the 182-day rose to 10.32 per cent and the 364-day up to 10.89 per cent.This is in line with our expectations on the current upward pressure on short-term rates due to money market liquidity constraints,” said Genghis CapitalInvestors are also thought to be eyeing this month’s 10-year Sh30 billion Treasury bond, which is on sale until July 25.Liquidity in the market has tightened in recent weeks due to CBK withdrawal in support of the shilling—mainly through the Repo market where the rate of 7.99 per cent is closely matching that of the 91-day T-billSome importers are also bulking up their dollar positions ahead of the general election, which is likely to be tightly contested with some concerns of unrest.