The government’s one-year Treasury bill continued to dominate investor attention last week, pulling in bids of Sh23.1 billion against the Sh10 billion on offer, new data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows.

This pushed the performance rate for the paper to 231 per cent, cementing the security’s place as the most sought-after short-term instrument in recent auctions.

Across the wider sale, CBK had set out to raise Sh24 billion but ended up with Sh38.8 billion in bids.

The regulator accepted Sh19.08 billion at a weighted average return of 9.6 per cent, edging up by just under one basis point from the previous week.

Analysts say the scramble reflects a rush by investors to secure yields before further rate cuts, following the CBK’s decision to lower the Central Bank Rate to 9.5 per cent earlier this month.

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While debt markets remained buoyant, CBK figures on diaspora remittances painted a mixed picture. Kenyans abroad sent home $426.2 million (Sh55.5 billion) in August, marginally lower than the $427.2 million (Sh55.6 billion) recorded in the same period last year.

Though the bank did not cite reasons for the dip, economists have linked it to the rising cost of living in key remittance markets such as the United States, which accounts for more than half of the inflows.

Despite the monthly slowdown, the 12-month cumulative total to August reached $5.1 billion (Sh664.3 billion), representing a 9.4 per cent rise from $4.6 billion (Sh598.8 billion) in the previous year.

CBK noted that remittances remain vital for the balance of payments, with foreign reserves standing at $11.2 billion (Sh1.46 trillion), enough to cover 4.9 months of imports, above the statutory minimum of four months.

Globally, inflation trends provided additional context. CBK highlighted that U.S. headline inflation quickened to 2.9 per cent year-on-year in August, up from 2.7 per cent in July, while core inflation stayed at 3.1 per cent. Rising food and shelter costs were cited as the main drivers.

Back home, the Nairobi Securities Exchange posted modest gains.

The NASI rose by 0.4 per cent, the NSE 25 advanced by 2 per cent, and the NSE 20 climbed 1.9 per cent. Market capitalisation added 0.4 per cent, although trading volumes declined.

Share turnover fell by nearly a third, while the number of shares changing hands dropped 15.8 per cent.

Bond activity in the secondary market slowed sharply, sliding 21 per cent to Sh39.7 billion from Sh50.2 billion a week earlier.

In the international market, Kenya’s Eurobond yields retreated by an average of 60.6 basis points, easing pressure on the country’s external debt profile.