- Fixed-Income Market Records Stronger Week as Turnover Jumps By GH¢1.28bn
Trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market rose sharply in the week ended July 10, 2026, with total turnover increasing to GH¢7.30 billion as investors increased activity in DDEP bonds and Treasury bills.
The GFIM Wrap for July 6 to July 10 showed that total trades rose from GH¢6.03 billion in the previous week to GH¢7.31 billion, representing a 21.20% increase. The rise points to stronger liquidity in the fixed-income market, even as trading remained heavily concentrated in government securities.
DDEP bonds accounted for the largest share of market activity, with turnover of GH¢3.75 billion, up from GH¢2.44 billion in the previous week. This represented a 53.65% increase and gave DDEP bonds a 51.36% share of total weekly turnover.
Treasury bills followed closely, recording GH¢3.40 billion in trades, compared with GH¢3.22 billion a week earlier. This represented a more modest increase of 5.75%, but still accounted for 46.51% of total market turnover.
Together, DDEP bonds and Treasury bills accounted for 97.87% of total GFIM activity for the week, underlining the continued dominance of government securities in Ghana’s fixed-income market.
The performance also suggests a market still balancing short-term liquidity preferences with renewed investor appetite for medium- and longer-dated instruments. Treasury bills remain attractive because of their shorter maturity profile and lower duration risk, but the strong rise in DDEP bond activity indicates that investors are also actively positioning along the post-restructuring bond curve.
New Government of Ghana bonds recorded relatively low activity, with turnover of GH¢495,671, compared with GH¢430,000 in the previous week. Although this represented a 15.27% increase, the segment accounted for only 0.01% of total market turnover.
Old Government of Ghana bonds recorded GH¢1.93 million in trades after no activity in the previous week, while corporate securities fell sharply to GH¢3.63 million from GH¢8.65 million, representing a decline of 58.08%.
Sell-buy-back trades also declined significantly, falling by 58.85% to GH¢149.82 million from GH¢364.09 million in the previous week. The decline in SBB activity suggests a reduction in short-term liquidity-driven trades, even as outright bond and bill activity strengthened.
The week’s trading pattern shows that the fixed-income market remains largely public-sector driven. Corporate securities continue to account for only a marginal share of activity, raising questions about the depth and liquidity of Ghana’s corporate bond market. At just GH¢3.63 million, corporate securities represented only 0.05% of total weekly turnover.
This weak corporate bond participation remains one of the structural limitations of Ghana’s capital market. While government securities provide essential liquidity and a benchmark yield curve, a deeper corporate bond market would offer companies an alternative funding channel and reduce excessive dependence on bank credit.
Within the DDEP bond segment, the 9-year DDEP instrument dominated trading, recording GH¢1.36 billion in turnover. This represented 36.35% of DDEP activity for the week. The 11-year DDEP bond followed with GH¢964.80 million, representing 25.70% of DDEP turnover.
The 4-year DDEP bond recorded GH¢339.38 million, while the 7-year DDEP bond saw GH¢318.32 million in trades. The 6-year DDEP bond recorded GH¢279.58 million, and the 8-year DDEP bond posted GH¢155.16 million in turnover.
The strong activity in the 9-year and 11-year DDEP bonds suggests that investors are not only seeking short-duration instruments but are also willing to take positions in selected longer maturities where yields are attractive. This may reflect expectations that inflation and interest rates will remain contained enough to support demand for longer-dated securities.
The yield curve, however, showed a mixed picture.
The 4-year yield rose marginally to 10.81% from 10.75%, while the 5-year yield eased slightly to 12.07% from 12.08%. The 6-year yield increased to 13.39% from 13.31%.
The 7-year DDEP yield declined to 13.87% from 14.30%, while the 7-year new bond yield rose sharply to 13.01% from 12.00%. The 8-year yield declined to 13.60% from 13.76%, and the 9-year yield eased to 14.27% from 14.75%.
Yields were unchanged at 14.50% on the 10-year and 14-year tenors, while the 11-year yield fell to 14.92% from 15.20%. At the longer end, however, the 12-year yield rose to 15.30% from 14.46%, and the 15-year yield increased to 15.02% from 14.11%.
This uneven movement suggests that investors are still discriminating across the curve rather than pricing all maturities in one direction. Demand appears stronger in some medium- to long-dated DDEP instruments, where yields eased, while parts of the far end saw upward pressure.
The increase in DDEP turnover also comes at a time when investors are reassessing Ghana’s inflation and interest-rate outlook. Inflation has begun to rise again after earlier sharp declines, raising questions about the Bank of Ghana’s next policy decision and the likely path of short-term rates.
If inflation pressures remain contained, longer-dated securities may continue to attract interest, especially where yields remain relatively high compared with expected inflation. But if inflation continues to rise, investors may demand higher yields, particularly on longer maturities.
For now, the GFIM data points to a market that is active but still highly concentrated. The increase in turnover is positive, but almost all trading remains in DDEP bonds and Treasury bills. Corporate securities, new bonds and old bonds remain peripheral.
The fixed-income market’s role in Ghana’s broader financial system remains critical. It provides pricing signals for government borrowing, liquidity management, investor expectations and monetary policy transmission. Stronger turnover helps market depth, but the quality of that depth depends on whether activity broadens beyond a few dominant instruments.
The July 6 to July 10 trading week therefore, tells two stories.
The first is one of renewed activity, with turnover rising by more than GH¢1.28 billion in one week. The second is one of concentration, with government securities still accounting for virtually the entire market.
For investors, the strong rise in DDEP bond activity suggests growing confidence in selected parts of the post-restructuring bond market. For policymakers and market operators, however, the bigger challenge remains how to deepen participation, improve corporate issuance and create a more balanced fixed-income market.
The Ghana Fixed Income Market ended the week stronger, but the structure of trading shows that market development still has some distance to travel.
