- Treasury Bills Account for 95.11% of Ghana Fixed-Income Market Activity
Trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market declined sharply on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, as turnover in Treasury bills and Domestic Debt Exchange Programme bonds fell from the unusually high levels recorded in the previous session.
Total traded volume dropped to GH¢1.06 billion from GH¢3.52 billion on October 27, representing a session-on-session decline of 69.80%.
The number of transactions also fell by 45.65%, from 620 to 337. Average transaction size declined from approximately GH¢5.67 million to GH¢3.15 million, indicating that the contraction reflected both fewer transactions and smaller individual trades.
The decline appears to represent a normalisation following the previous session’s large institutional transactions rather than a complete loss of investor demand. October 27 recorded exceptionally high volumes in selected Treasury bills and restructured government bonds, including several block-sized trades.
On October 28, activity shifted decisively toward short-term government securities. Treasury bills generated GH¢1.01 billion and accounted for 95.11% of total market turnover.
That dominance indicates that investors continued to favour liquidity, short duration and predictable maturity over longer-term sovereign exposure.
Treasury-bill turnover fell by 54.67% from GH¢2.23 billion in the previous session, but the segment remained considerably more active than every other asset class.
The 364-day segment generated GH¢950.64 million, equivalent to 94.12% of all Treasury-bill trading and approximately 89.52% of total market turnover.
The 91-day segment recorded GH¢36.98 million across 117 transactions, while 182-day bills generated GH¢22.42 million from 84 trades.
The figures demonstrate an interesting difference between volume and transaction frequency. Shorter-dated instruments attracted a larger number of smaller transactions, while 364-day bills were dominated by fewer but substantially larger institutional trades.
The most actively traded individual instrument in the Treasury-bill schedule was the 364-day bill maturing on April 26, 2027. It recorded GH¢243.41 million across seven transactions and closed at a yield of 6.17%.
The instrument alone accounted for 24.10% of Treasury-bill volume and 22.92% of total market turnover.
A bill maturing on August 16, 2027, followed with GH¢209.21 million across three transactions. It closed at a yield of 8.83% and a price of GH¢93.38.
Other significant trades included GH¢130.32 million in the July 26, 2027 bill at a closing yield of 8.59%, GH¢126.08 million in the August 2, 2027 bill at 8.67% and GH¢95.80 million in the October 4, 2027 instrument at 9.39%.
The yield progression shows investors demanding greater compensation as maturities extend.
Near-term Treasury bills closed at yields below 4%, while maturities extending into the second half of 2027 generally attracted yields above 8%. The October 2027 instrument closed near 9.40%.
This upward-sloping curve reflects the additional inflation, reinvestment and fiscal risks investors associate with longer holding periods.
The concentration in 364-day securities suggests that institutional investors are prepared to move further along the short-term yield curve to obtain higher returns. However, they continue to stop short of committing substantial funds to longer-term government bonds.
Trading in Domestic Debt Exchange Programme bonds declined by 97.80%, from GH¢1.26 billion to GH¢27.60 million.
Only nine transactions were completed, compared with 78 in the previous session. DDEP bonds consequently represented just 2.60% of total market volume, down from 35.70%.
The February 2030 bond dominated the segment, generating GH¢24.31 million across five transactions. It accounted for 88.07% of DDEP turnover and closed at a yield of 14.37%.
The February 2029 bond recorded GH¢3.29 million across four trades and closed at 14.22%.
Yield movements were mixed. The February 2029 bond’s closing yield increased by 18 basis points from 14.04% to 14.22%, indicating a modest decline in its price.
The February 2030 bond moved in the opposite direction, with its yield falling by 16 basis points from 14.53% to 14.37%.
The limited number of securities traded shows that liquidity across the restructured bond curve remains narrow. Investors continue to focus on selected maturities rather than trading broadly across the entire DDEP portfolio.
The sharp fall in turnover should also be interpreted against the previous session’s large trades. Two DDEP securities generated more than GH¢1 billion on October 27, making the comparison unusually demanding.
New government bond turnover fell by 99.88%, from GH¢8.15 million to just GH¢9,750.
The only transaction occurred in the four-year bond maturing in September 2030. Its closing yield declined from 12.02% to 11.70%, while its price increased to GH¢100.88.
Ordinarily, a 32-basis-point yield decline could suggest stronger buying demand. However, the extremely small transaction volume means the movement should not be treated as evidence of broad market repricing.
No activity was recorded in old government notes and bonds, compared with GH¢45,000 in the previous session.
Direct government securities, comprising Treasury bills and the various government bond categories, still accounted for 97.71% of total market turnover.
When sell-and-buyback transactions are included, government-related instruments represented approximately 99.43% of market activity.
Sell-and-buyback transactions declined by 18.17% to GH¢18.28 million, but the number of transactions increased from 16 to 17.
This suggests that institutions continued using government securities to manage short-term liquidity, although transactions were smaller on average.
The August 2027 bond recorded the largest volume at GH¢4.94 million, followed by GH¢4.83 million in the February 2032 DDEP bond and GH¢3.66 million in the February 2038 instrument.
A functioning sell-and-buyback market is important because it allows institutions to obtain temporary liquidity using government securities without permanently disposing of their assets.
However, activity remains small relative to the cash market and concentrated in a few government instruments.
Corporate bond turnover increased by 75.97% to GH¢3.95 million from GH¢2.24 million.
A Ghana Cocoa Board bond maturing in August 2028 generated GH¢2.03 million across four trades. A Petrosol Platinum Energy bond maturing in August 2030 contributed GH¢1.92 million through a single transaction.
The two instruments accounted for 51.37% and 48.63% of corporate bond activity, respectively.
Commercial-paper turnover increased more than tenfold to GH¢2.08 million from GH¢197,777. The entire volume came from two trades in Cocoa Capital PLC paper maturing in June 2027.
The large percentage increases should be interpreted carefully because they arose from extremely low previous-session bases.
Corporate bonds and commercial paper together represented only 0.57% of total market turnover. No transactions were recorded in green and sustainable bonds.
The limited non-government activity demonstrates that the GFIM remains overwhelmingly dependent on sovereign securities. Private issuers still lack the volume, diversity and secondary-market liquidity needed to challenge government instruments as meaningful destinations for institutional capital.
Treasury bills are likely to remain the market’s dominant segment in the near term because they offer liquidity, clearer price discovery and limited duration risk.
The concentration in 364-day instruments suggests investors want higher returns than those available at the shortest end of the curve but remain unwilling to assume substantial long-term exposure.
Demand for DDEP bonds may continue to fluctuate sharply because daily turnover is influenced by large institutional transactions. A few block trades can lift total market activity dramatically, while their absence can produce steep session-on-session declines.
Investors will also watch whether declining short-term yields eventually encourage a gradual move toward longer maturities. Such a transition would require confidence that inflation, fiscal policy and interest rates will remain stable.
The October 28 session therefore presents two contrasting signals. Overall turnover weakened considerably, but Treasury-bill demand remained strong enough to keep activity above GH¢1 billion.
The deeper issue is concentration. Ghana’s fixed-income market continues to depend on Treasury bills, selected DDEP maturities and occasional institutional block trades. Sustainable market development will require broader liquidity across the government curve and stronger participation in corporate and sustainable debt.
