The central bank's latest auction of treasury bills (T-bills) saw a total of 19 billion Br worth of bids. The government-guaranteed bonds are auctioned off bi-monthly to financial institutions, pensioners funds and individuals. Of the total sum, 13 billion Br was raised in a non-competitive bid committed by commercial banks. A few weeks ago, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) had obligated banks to commit returns from Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) bonds to buying T-bills. The average yield of T-bills with a maturity of 28 days declined to 7.8pc from 8.2pc during the previous auction last month. Similarly, the yield of 182-day and 365-day T-bills showed a slight decline from last month. As of the end of the last fiscal year, the federal government owed 120 billion Br to the central bank for the returns of T-bills.

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