- Bond Market Turnover Rises 127% on Strong DDEP Demand
Trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market surged on October 14, 2026, as investors sharply increased their exposure to restructured government bonds, Treasury bills and sell/buy-back transactions.
Total market turnover reached GH¢2.49 billion across 551 trades, according to the GFIM trading report. That represented a 127.4 percent increase from the GH¢1.09 billion recorded through 343 trades on October 13. The number of transactions consequently rose by 60.6 percent, showing that the expansion was driven by both larger deals and broader trading activity.
The strongest signal came from Domestic Debt Exchange Programme bonds. Turnover in the restructured securities climbed to GH¢1.45 billion from GH¢603.92 million, an increase of 140.5 percent in one session. DDEP bonds alone accounted for 58.4 percent of total market turnover, making them the dominant segment by a wide margin.
Treasury bills remained the market’s second-largest component. Turnover increased by 66.9 percent to GH¢808.60 million from GH¢484.38 million, while the number of bill trades rose to 464 from 315. Together, DDEP bonds and Treasury bills generated 90.9 percent of the day’s turnover, underlining how strongly secondary-market liquidity remains concentrated in sovereign instruments.
That concentration matters. A deep market for government securities improves price discovery and gives investors greater flexibility to manage liquidity. However, the small contribution from corporate instruments also shows that Ghana’s fixed-income market is still far from providing businesses with a comparably deep pool of tradable long-term capital.
The most heavily traded DDEP security was the 2023-GC-1 bond maturing in February 2027. It recorded GH¢658 million across four transactions and closed at a yield of 10.8 percent. The scale of the turnover, despite the small number of trades, suggests that a few large institutional transactions drove activity in the instrument.
The 2023-GC-4 bond due in February 2030 followed with GH¢435.20 million across 22 trades. Its closing yield eased to 14.22 percent from 14.32 percent on October 13, while its price rose to 85.9248 from 85.6841. The combination of higher turnover, a firmer price and a lower yield points to improved demand for the bond.
Interest was also visible in the 2031 DDEP bond, which generated GH¢162.56 million. Its yield declined by 31 basis points to 14.20 percent from 14.51 percent, while the closing price increased to 83.3610. This was one of the clearer signs that buyers were prepared to accept a slightly lower return to secure exposure further along the restructured yield curve.
Activity was not uniform across maturities. Turnover in the 2029 DDEP bond declined to GH¢52.49 million from GH¢140.53 million, even as its yield remained broadly steady at 13.91 percent. The shift suggests that investors rotated toward selected 2027, 2030 and 2031 maturities rather than lifting demand evenly across the entire DDEP curve.
Treasury bill trading displayed a similarly selective pattern. The largest bill transaction involved the instrument maturing on March 8, 2027, which recorded GH¢203.90 million in a single trade at a yield of 5.54 percent. A bill due on August 2, 2027, generated GH¢111.64 million across nine trades, up from GH¢28.87 million a day earlier, while its yield edged down to 8.84 percent.
Meanwhile, turnover in the July 26, 2027 bill fell to GH¢67.19 million from GH¢178.42 million. Its closing yield softened marginally to 8.75 percent. The divergent movements across bills indicate that investors were matching purchases to specific liquidity horizons instead of treating the short-term government market as a single trade.
Sell/buy-back transactions delivered the largest proportional increase. Turnover jumped to GH¢217.83 million across 23 trades from only GH¢2.40 million through two trades on October 13. These transactions accounted for 8.8 percent of the market, compared with less than one percent in the previous session.
The surge points to increased use of government bonds for short-term liquidity and collateral management. Two transactions dominated: GH¢105.02 million in the 2033 GC-7 bond at a yield of 12.11 percent and GH¢100 million in the 2036 GC-10 bond at 14.60 percent. Their prominence suggests institutional investors were actively mobilising longer-dated securities to manage cash positions.
Trading in newly issued government notes and bonds also improved, although it remained modest. Turnover rose from GH¢29,281 to GH¢1.77 million. The four-year bond maturing in September 2030 accounted for GH¢972,947 at 11.58 percent, while the seven-year bond due in March 2033 recorded GH¢800,800 at 12.60 percent.
The 2033 bond’s yield rose by 60 basis points from 12 percent on October 13, as its price declined to 99.558 from 102.2022. That move signals softer pricing at the longer maturity, contrasting with the yield compression seen in selected DDEP securities.
Corporate bond activity weakened. Turnover fell by 52.1 percent to GH¢1.48 million from GH¢3.09 million, despite trades increasing to six from five. Two Cocobod bonds accounted for the entire segment, with the 2027 instrument generating GH¢1.08 million and the 2028 security recording GH¢400,000.
Commercial paper provided a small diversification point. Cocoa Capital PLC’s paper maturing in June 2027 recorded GH¢4.98 million across five trades after the segment registered no activity on October 13. Still, corporate bonds and commercial paper together represented barely a quarter of one percent of total turnover.
The October 14 session therefore presents two contrasting messages. Liquidity strengthened dramatically, DDEP price discovery improved and short-term government instruments attracted substantial trading interest. Yet activity remained overwhelmingly tied to the sovereign balance sheet, leaving corporate finance on the margins.
Market breadth within fixed income should be judged not only by headline turnover but by how many issuers, maturities and transaction types attract repeat participation. October 14 delivered a powerful liquidity rebound, yet its quality will depend on continuity. One exceptional session can improve confidence; a sustained sequence can change funding conditions for government and business.
Near-term market direction will depend on whether the jump in turnover persists beyond a single session. Investors will watch movements in DDEP yields, demand for Treasury bills and the frequency of collateral-backed transactions. Sustained yield compression across restructured bonds would indicate stronger confidence, while wider participation in corporate securities would provide better evidence that Ghana’s fixed-income recovery is broadening into a deeper capital market.
