Bond Market: Secondary trading picks up but investors remain careful

Trading on Ghana’s bond market increased last week. Activity jumped by over 25%. The total value of bonds traded rose from GHS1.23 billion to GHS1.41 billion. This shows growing interest from investors.

Ghana’s secondary bond market allows buying and selling of existing government bonds. Investors do not buy these bonds directly from the government. According to Databank Research, the most traded bond matures in February 2027. It accounted for about a third of all trades and offered an average yield of 20%.

Most trading involved short-term bonds, which made up 60% of activity. These also provided an average return of 20%. The remaining trades were in medium- to long-term bonds, offering slightly higher returns of about 21.3%.

Despite increased trading, prices dropped slightly, raising returns a bit. This often happens when investors are cautious due to economic uncertainty. Experts believe trading could increase further in the coming weeks.

Banks typically adjust their investment portfolios at month-end, boosting market activity.