NAIROBI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Treasury bills were undersubscribed for the fifth auction in a row this week as anxiety over presidential election results gripped the country.
Analysts blamed the low subscription on reduced liquidity in the money market due to the highly contested polls.
In the auction, the Central Bank of Kenya raised 11 million U.S. dollars from sale of 91-day Treasury bills, against a target of 38 million dollars; 92 million dollars from 182-day bills against a targeted 98 million dollars; and 77 million dollars from 364-day bills, also against a target of 98 million dollars.
Yields on short-term Treasury bills continued to dip this week. The yields for the 91, 182 and 364-day papers came in at 8.196 percent, 10.320 percent, and 10.905 percent respectively, down from 8.199 percent, 10.324 percent, and 10.889 percent of the previous week.
Total bids accepted stood at 179 million dollars.
Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm, noted that the central bank has remained disciplined in stabilizing interest rates in the auction market by rejecting aggressive bids that were priced above market, leading to a decline in the overall bids acceptance rate.
