The government has seen another significant oversubscription in its primary T-bill auction, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced, following the August 1 auction.

This comes after demand surged 42.07 per cent above the target.

Reports from the Bank of Ghana suggest that the latest figures indicate the government had planned to raise GHS 3.86 billion through Treasury bills, but it, however, accepted a total of GHS 5.48 billion. This was a result of investor interest exceeding expectations.

Specifically, GHS 4.32 billion was taken from GHS 4.86 billion in bids for the 91-day bill, GHS 823 million from GHS 1.15 billion for the 182-day bill, and GHS 343 million out of GHS 774 million for the 364-day bill.

Experts say the high demand happened because big investors, like banks and companies, want to buy Treasury bills now while the interest rates are still high. They believe that interest rates and inflation might go down soon, so they want to secure the good returns before that happens.

Interest rates on short-term government securities are still going down. The interest on the 91-day bill fell to 10.29%, which is 0.54% lower than before. The 182-day bill dropped from 13.22% to 12.35%, and the 364-day bill also went down by 1.06% to 13.24%.

According to recent reports, the Ghanaian government announced plans to borrow GHS 8.58 billion through treasury bills in its upcoming auction. This figure was cited in a Bank of Ghana issuance calendar for August 2025, which outlines the government’s short-term borrowing strategy.

This oversubscription adds to the recent oversubscription spree the government has recorded in the last three months consecutively.

The most recent T-bill auction in Ghana took place on Friday, July 25, and it recorded a massive 160% oversubscription.

Earlier this year, when the government assumed office, T-bill auctions were struggling, with eight consecutive weeks of undersubscription. Among some of the reasons for the undersubscription were investor liquidity constraints, where financial institutions and investors faced cash flow challenges, diminishing their interest in investing in government securities.

Another reason for the undersubscription was other attractive competing investment options, such as the Bank of Ghana’s OMO bills, which were offering higher interest in comparison to t-bills institutions and the public's preference. The Bank of Ghana’s OMO bills are short-term debt instruments used in Open Market Operations (OMO)—a key tool for managing money supply and interest rates in the economy.

Market uncertainty was another undersubscription challenge. Due to the previous government's Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and other concerns about inflation, fiscal discipline all made investors tread cautiously by monitoring fiscal decisions in that regard by the new government.

Tight monetary conditions, with less money circulating in the system, the demand for short-term debt instruments also dropped accounting for undersubscription.

In April, the government failed to meet its Treasury bill target for the third week in a row. It fell short by GH¢2.69 billion after rejecting GH¢2.37 billion worth of bids, likely because the interest rates offered by investors did not meet the government’s expectations.

According to the Bank of Ghana’s data, the government aimed to raise GH¢4.39 billion through short-term borrowing but only received GH¢1.69 billion in bids. This represents a shortfall of 61.46%.

For the 91-day bill, the government received GH¢3.38 billion in bids but accepted only GH¢1.45 billion.For the 182-day bill, GH¢501.17 million was tendered, but only GH¢81.09 million was accepted.

The 364-day bill saw GH¢176.26 million in bids, with GH¢161.26 million accepted.

Interest rates on these short-term bills remain between 15% and 18%. Specifically:

The 91-day bill rate dropped slightly to 15.65%.

The 182-day rate declined to 16.50%.

The 364-day rate edged down to 18.83%.

This comes after the Bank of Ghana at the time increased its policy rate from 27% to 28% to help control inflation.

Although the government is rejecting more bids and trying to keep interest rates lower, experts believe this is part of a strategy to manage short-term interest rates, control liquidity in the system, and prepare for issuing longer-term bonds.

Meanwhile, in March this year, Ghana's Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, mentioned that Ghana has saved approximately GH¢1 billion following a decline in Treasury bill (T-bill) rates.

In a speech at the National Economic Dialogue on Monday, March 3, Dr Forson described the reduction as a significant financial relief, enabling the government to reallocate funds towards essential sectors of the economy.

“The recent reduction in T-bills alone is saving Ghana about one billion Ghana Cedis, and that money can be channelled to critical areas of the economy,” he stated.

He emphasised that lowering T-bill rates is part of broader fiscal management efforts aimed at reducing borrowing costs and ensuring economic stability. He further noted that responsible financial policies are necessary to ease the burden on the government and free up capital for productive investments.

Despite the progress, Dr Forson called for continued fiscal discipline and policy interventions to strengthen Ghana’s financial standing. He urged stakeholders to support ongoing economic reforms that are geared towards restoring macroeconomic stability.

In a related development, Ghana's economic status has seen significant stability in the past few months. Inflation has reduced, cedi has seen a massive decline against major trading currencies.

The Ghana cedi has seen a remarkable appreciation against major trading currencies worldwide over the past six months.

During the presentation of the 2025 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review yesterday, July 24, the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, revealed that the cedi has recorded a remarkable turnaround in the first six months of 2025, appreciating by 42.6% against the US dollar.

Dr Forson described the cedi’s performance as “impressive” and the first of its kind in the history of Ghana’s economy. The cedi, which was initially always experiencing depreciation, is currently showing resilience against the dollar. He noted that the cedi, which was previously trading at about GH¢17.0 to the US dollar, had strengthened to GH¢10.4 as of July 23.

“Mr. Speaker, the cedi’s performance in the first half of this year has been impressive! The Ghana cedi experienced significant appreciation against all major trading currencies in the first six months of 2025. I am happy to inform the House that our precious cedi, which once upon a time was trading at about GH¢17.0 to the US dollar, was trading at about GH¢10.4 as of yesterday, 23rd July, 2025,” he revealed.

In high spirits, the minister adopted the catchphrase from Ghanaian highlife musician King Paluta’s energetic party anthem “For the Popping (Apicki),” released on December 27, 2024, and said, “This level of appreciation of the Ghana cedi has never happened in the history of our nation. Ghanafo, cedi no apicki! Apicki apicki apicki!”

He continued that the strength of the cedi has not appreciated against just the US dollar but against the British pound as well. The cedi also gained 30.3% against the British pound and 25.6% against the euro during the same period. This marks a sharp contrast to the same period in 2024, when the cedi depreciated by 18.6% against the dollar, 17.9% against the pound, and 16.0% against the euro.

“Similarly, the cedi, which was once trading at GH¢21.0 to the Great British Pound, was trading at about GH¢14.1 as of yesterday, 23rd July, 2025. Mr. Speaker, as of end-June 2025, the cedi appreciated by 42.6% against the US dollar, 30.3% against the British pound, and 25.6% against the euro,” he added.