The central bank's latest auction of treasury bills (T-bills) saw 14.2 billion Br in bids. The government-guaranteed bonds are auctioned off bi-monthly to financial institutions, pension funds and individuals. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) had brought bills valued at close to 24 billion Br to the table. It is the same amount the central bank had on offer during its first T-bill auction of the financial year. T-bills with 182-day maturity periods garnered the most offers (6.4 billion Br) during the auction on July 27, 2022. Although the central bank was offering 365-day bills valued at 12.3 billion Br, auction participants only placed 3.6 billion Br in bids. The federal government has resorted to the sale of treasury bills (T-bills) to respond to a growing budget deficit, which had hit 123 billion Br by the end of the last financial year. Outstanding public debt through the sale of T-bills shot up by 110pc to 253 billion Br last year.