- GFIM Turnover Eases to GH¢1.35 billion as Treasury Bills Dominate Trading
Trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market reached GH¢1.35 billion on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, with Treasury bills accounting for nearly two-thirds of total turnover as investors maintained a strong preference for short-term government securities.
The market recorded 3,064 transactions during the session, with Treasury bills alone accounting for 3,031 trades and GH¢884.56 million in turnover.
That represented 65.35% of total market activity, reinforcing the dominance of short-dated government paper within Ghana’s secondary fixed-income market.
Domestic Debt Exchange Programme bonds were the second-largest category, recording GH¢447.19 million across 27 transactions, equivalent to 33.04% of total turnover.
Together, Treasury bills and DDEP bonds generated approximately 98.39% of all trading during the session, leaving only a marginal share for corporate debt, sell/buy-back transactions and newly issued government bonds.
Sell/buy-back transactions involving Government of Ghana bonds generated GH¢19.85 million across four trades, representing 1.47% of market turnover.
Corporate bonds accounted for GH¢1.83 million, or 0.13%, from a single transaction, while new Government of Ghana notes and bonds generated only GH¢47,394. No activity was recorded in the old Government of Ghana notes and bonds segment.
The concentration in Treasury bills highlights the continued appetite for relatively short-duration government securities, particularly among investors seeking liquidity and lower exposure to the price volatility associated with longer-term bonds.
The most heavily traded Treasury bill during the session was the instrument maturing on August 2, 2027.
It generated GH¢232.66 million in turnover across 129 transactions, representing 26.30% of total Treasury bill activity and 17.19% of the entire fixed-income market.
The instrument closed at a yield of 12.86%, with a weighted average closing price of GH¢88.63.
That maturity alone therefore attracted more turnover than several other fixed-income categories combined, illustrating the extent to which market liquidity remains concentrated around selected instruments.
Treasury bill activity also accounted for virtually all transaction frequency.
Although Treasury bills represented 65.35% of trading value, they accounted for approximately 98.92% of the 3,064 trades executed during the session.
That suggests the segment combines both large institutional transactions and a much wider distribution of smaller trades compared with the longer-dated bond market.
The structure was markedly different in DDEP securities, where turnover was driven by a smaller number of significantly larger block transactions.
The February 2031 DDEP bond carrying an 8.95% coupon was the dominant instrument in the category.
The bond recorded GH¢237.28 million in turnover from a single transaction and closed at a yield of 15.15% and a weighted average price of GH¢80.16.
That one trade accounted for 53.06% of total DDEP bond turnover and 17.53% of the entire GFIM session.
The concentration reflects the uneven distribution of liquidity across Ghana’s post-restructuring government bond curve.
While several DDEP instruments remain available for trading, selected maturities tend to absorb the overwhelming share of daily turnover when institutional investors execute large portfolio adjustments.
Sell/buy-back activity was similarly concentrated.
A Government of Ghana bond maturing in February 2037 generated GH¢17.10 million from a single transaction, accounting for approximately 86.14% of all sell/buy-back turnover.
The security carried a yield of 14.30% and closed at a weighted average price of about GH¢76.13.
Corporate bond trading remained subdued.
Only one corporate security generated activity during the session, recording GH¢1.83 million in turnover. The limited scale once again highlights the structural imbalance within Ghana’s fixed-income market, where sovereign securities dominate both liquidity and investor attention.
That imbalance has broader implications for capital-market development.
A deeper corporate bond market could provide companies with an alternative source of long-term funding while giving pension funds, insurers and asset managers greater diversification beyond government paper.
Yet daily trading patterns continue to show that secondary-market liquidity remains overwhelmingly concentrated in sovereign instruments.
For investors, the August 4 session also illustrates the yield distinction between short-term Treasury bills and longer-duration DDEP securities.
The most actively traded Treasury bill closed at 12.86%, while the dominant DDEP bond traded at 15.15%.
The higher yield on the restructured bond reflects longer duration and greater market-price exposure, while Treasury bills continue to offer investors shorter maturity and more frequent secondary-market liquidity.
Compared with the previous trading session, the overall market remained active but shifted more decisively towards Treasury bills.
On August 3, Treasury bills had accounted for just over half of turnover, while DDEP bonds represented a considerably larger share. Tuesday’s session therefore showed investors moving relatively more trading activity into short-term government paper.
The market nevertheless remained liquid across the government securities spectrum.
Total turnover of GH¢1.35 billion confirms that Ghana’s fixed-income market continues to accommodate significant institutional activity, even if that liquidity remains concentrated in a relatively small number of instruments.
The August 4 session ultimately reinforces two persistent features of the market: Treasury bills remain the principal source of transaction depth, while a handful of DDEP maturities continue to dominate longer-term bond trading.
For the development of a more balanced fixed-income market, the challenge will be expanding liquidity beyond sovereign securities and building a more active corporate debt segment capable of attracting investors alongside government instruments.
