Nigeria plans 310bn naira treasury bills auction on March 1

LAGOS: Nigeria plans to sell 310.22 billion naira ($984.83 million) of short-dated treasury bills at an auction on March 1, the central bank said on Tuesday.

It plans to raise 26.14 billion naira in three-month debt, 62 billion in six-month bills and 222.08 billion in one-year notes, using a Dutch auction system. Payment will be due the day after the auction.

Nigeria's central bank issues treasury bills twice a month to finance the budget deficit, help manage commercial lenders' liquidity and curb rising inflation.

Annual inflation in Nigeria climbed to 18.72 percent in January, its 12th straight monthly rise. The trend was worsened by dollar shortages, which have crippled the import-dependent economy and triggered the first recession in 25 years.

The government is also facing funding challenges due to the low price of oil. It expects the budget deficit to widen to 2.36 trillion naira this year as it tries to spend its way of out of the recession.

More than half of the deficit will be funded through local borrowing, the government has said.