Govt raises sh1.613 trillion from selling securities in February

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In February 2026, the Ugandan government raised sh1.613 trillion from two treasury bill (T-Bill) auctions and one treasury bond (T-Bond) auction.

Of the total amount, sh615.98 billion was raised from T-Bills, while sh997.19 billion was raised from T-Bonds, according to the finance ministry's Performance of the Economy Report for February 2026.

A total of sh853.19 billion was used to finance items in the budget, while sh759.98 billion was used to refinance maturing securities.

As in the previous month of January, yields (interest rates) declined for the second consecutive month across all tenors in February.

Yields on the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors reduced to 11.0 percent, 11.9 percent and 12.3 percent in February, from 11.2 percent, 12.7 percent and 14.0 percent respectively, a month earlier.

All auctions for treasury bills remained oversubscribed, with an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.16 recorded during the month under review.

In February, the government held auctions for the 3-year, 10-year and 20-year bond tenors on the primary securities market. Similar to T-Bills, yields on T-Bonds also declined compared to rates registered in previous issuances of similar securities.

Yields for the 3-year, 10-year and 20-year bonds reduced to 13.30 percent, 14.50 percent and 15.49 percent, down from 15.90 percent, 16.75 percent and 17.63 percent respectively.

The continued decline in yields for both T-Bills and T-Bonds was mainly driven by relatively high demand for government securities due to reduced political risk after the elections, and continued offshore participation in the securities market.

Treasury bills are risk-free short-term financial instruments issued regularly to the public by the government through the Bank of Uganda (BOU), while treasury bonds are long-term financial instruments also issued by the government through BOU to the investing public.

The investment period for treasury bills includes short-term tenors of three months, six months and one year, while treasury bonds cover long-term tenors of two years, three years, five years, 10 years and 15 years.