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The Central Bank of Nigeria said on Tuesday that it will issue short-dated treasury bills at an auction on March 1st. According to Reuters, CBN said it would raise N310.22 billion naira ($984.83 million) in N26.14 billion three-month debt, N62 billion in six-month bills and N222.08 billion in one-year notes, using a Dutch auction system.

Twice a month, the CBN issues treasury bills to help finance government’s budget deficits, manage banking system liquidity and curb growing inflation.

The 2017 budget proposal presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari has a deficit of N2.36 trillion. About 46 per cent of the deficit is to be funded through external borrowing while the balance will be borrowed from the domestic market.

Inflation has remained outside the upper limit of the apex bank’s target rate of 9 per cent since June 2015, reaching 18.72 per cent in January 2017. The CBN has retained its benchmark interest rate at 14 per cent since July in a bid to control the surging inflation and stimulate economic growth.