The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold a total of N126.32 billion in treasury bills ranging from three months to one year at its bi-monthly auction, with higher yields on the paper than at the previous auction.

The apex bank on Thursday sold N30.64 billion worth of the 91-day paper at a return of 13.50 percent, up from 13.19 percent at the previous auction.

The N45 billion worth of the 182-day paper was issued at 14.14 percent, compared with 13.87 percent at the previous auction, while the bank issued N50.68 billion worth of 1-year paper at a return of 13.30 percent, lower than the 13.94 percent at an auction on April 10.

Total subscriptions stood at N307.28 billion, a sharp drop from N513.42 billion demanded at the last auction, reflecting declining interest by offshore investors in short-dated debt instruments, traders said.

High inflation and the declining value of the local currency is leading offshore investors to sell down their local debt holdings and repatriate the funds, putting further pressure on the local currency, dealers told Reuters.