Ghana's fixed-income market recorded a total turnover of GHS 1.57 billion on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. This significant trading volume occurred across 934 separate transactions.
Treasury bills were the overwhelming driver of this activity, accounting for GHS 1.398 billion. This figure represents approximately 88.87% of the total market turnover for the day. This strong concentration in short-dated government securities highlights investors' continued preference for liquidity and short-duration exposure within Ghana's financial landscape.
This market behaviour reflects a broader trend in Ghana's economic environment. Investors continue to favour government bills despite declining yields from previous elevated levels. These instruments offer an attractive combination of liquidity, relatively short maturities, and sovereign exposure. The sustained demand for Treasury bills also indicates ongoing fiscal and monetary adjustments within the Ghanaian economy. This trend suggests a cautious approach by investors in a period of economic recalibration.
The Norvan Reports indicated that the most heavily traded Treasury bill was the GOG-BL-02/08/27-A7094-2018-0. This specific security recorded GHS 573.13 million across six transactions. It traded at a yield of about 12.12% and a weighted closing price of 89.5871. This single Treasury bill alone accounted for a substantial portion of the short-term segment's overall activity.
Following Treasury bills, Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) bonds formed the second-largest component of trading. These bonds recorded GHS 160 million across four transactions. This accounted for approximately 10.17% of the total fixed-income market activity. The GOG-BD-10/02/32-A6148-1838-9.10 bond dominated this segment, trading GHS 130 million across three trades. It closed at a yield of 14.70% and a price of 79.3649. The pricing of this 2032 DDEP bond offers insight into how the market values longer-dated restructured government debt. Its yield remained higher than the largest Treasury bill transaction, reflecting the increased duration risk for investors.
Older Government of Ghana notes and bonds contributed a modest GHS 1.20 million from three transactions. Corporate bond activity remained subdued, with GHS 5.02 million changing hands through eight transactions. The largest corporate transaction involved the CMB-BD-28/08/28-A6301-1675-13.00 security, recording GHS 4.29 million. This relatively small contribution from corporate bonds underscores the structural dominance of government securities in Ghana's fixed-income market. Corporate issuers remain a limited part of secondary-market activity compared to government instruments. This constrains the depth of alternative long-term financing channels available outside the banking system. Sell-and-buy-back transactions involving Government of Ghana securities recorded GHS 8.90 million across 21 trades. This was equivalent to about 0.57% of the day's total market activity. No trading was recorded in the new Government of Ghana notes and bonds category.
The continued dominance of short-term government paper has wider implications for Ghana's capital market development. A deeper fixed-income system would typically support a broader spectrum of sovereign and corporate financing across different maturities. While strong secondary-market liquidity in Treasury bills is positive for price discovery and cash management, persistent government security dominance can limit market diversification. This structural imbalance may hinder the growth of corporate financing options and the overall maturity of Ghana's financial markets. Policymakers will likely continue to monitor this concentration as they seek to broaden and deepen the nation's capital markets.