Trading activity on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) reached GHS 8.45 billion in the week ending July 24, 2026. This significant increase was largely due to investors moving into Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds. This reversed the previous week's trend, where Treasury bills were the main drivers of market activity.
Total volume traded on the GFIM increased by 34.74% from GHS 6.27 billion in the prior week. This strong rebound in secondary-market activity was almost entirely fueled by DDEP bonds. DDEP bond turnover more than doubled, rising to GHS 4.96 billion from GHS 1.80 billion in the previous week, a 175.16% increase. These bonds accounted for 58.68% of total market activity, up from 28.73% in the preceding week.
This shift is crucial for Ghana's economic narrative, indicating a growing investor appetite for restructured government securities. It suggests a gradual return of confidence in these instruments, despite some elevated yields. This development shows the market is becoming more active beyond short-dated Treasury bills. However, it also indicates that risk has not yet been fully repriced lower across the board.
Treasury bills, which had dominated the market previously, saw weaker activity. T-bill turnover fell by 18.22% to GHS 3.39 billion from GHS 4.14 billion. This reduced their market share to 40.11% from 66.09%. Despite this decline, T-bills remained the second-largest contributor to market turnover. They continue to provide important liquidity at the short end of the fixed income market.
The changing balance between DDEP bonds and T-bills is a key market signal. For a long time after the debt restructuring, investors preferred short-term government paper. This was due to better liquidity, lower duration risk, and clearer price discovery. The latest weekly performance suggests a stronger willingness to trade longer-dated restructured bonds. However, yields still reflect a degree of caution among investors.
New Government of Ghana bonds recorded GHS 48.60 million in activity, after no trades in the previous week. This accounted for 0.58% of total market turnover. While modest, this trading activity is important. It points to the gradual re-emergence of the new bond curve following Ghana's debt restructuring and domestic market reset. Old Government of Ghana bonds remained marginal, with turnover falling 47.00% to GHS 1.30 million.
Corporate securities also softened slightly, declining 1.94% to GHS 20.88 million. Sell-buy-back trades fell sharply by 89.68% to GHS 31.05 million from GHS 300.85 million. The sharp fall in sell-buy-back activity indicates that the overall increase in turnover was not driven by short-term liquidity transactions. Instead, it was driven by outright bond-market activity, especially in DDEP securities. This gives the turnover rebound a stronger market-quality signal.
Within the DDEP bond space, activity was heavily concentrated in a few specific maturities. The 7-year DDEP bond led trading, recording GHS 2.43 billion. This was equivalent to 28.74% of total GFIM turnover. It also represented about 48.50% of combined DDEP and new bond activity. The 9-year DDEP bond followed with GHS 1.19 billion. The 8-year DDEP bond recorded GHS 476.71 million, and the 6-year DDEP bond posted GHS 359.64 million. These four DDEP bonds accounted for most of the restructured bond trading.
This concentration suggests that liquidity remains uneven across the medium-to-long end of the curve. Investors are favoring selected maturities where price discovery, demand, and tradability are stronger. The 7-year new bond also recorded GHS 46.60 million in trades. This is still far below the activity seen in the restructured 7-year DDEP bond. The 7-year new bond traded at a yield of 12.96%. The 7-year DDEP bond traded at 15.06%. This leaves a spread of about 210 basis points between the two instruments. This spread reflects the market's continuing distinction between newly issued government paper and restructured debt. It also shows that investors still demand a meaningful premium for DDEP instruments, even with improved confidence.