Every fortnight the Bank of Zambia auctions Treasury bills, and every fortnight a small number of people read the results very carefully. Here is why the rest of the country should care.
Where government borrowing costs sit
91-day and 364-day Treasury bill yields against the 3-year bond
Show the numbers
| Month | 91-Day Treasury Bill (%) | 364-Day Treasury Bill (%) | 3-Year Bond (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 9.75 | 11.90 | 12.59 |
| Aug 2026 | 10.50 | 12.10 | 14.09 |
| Jul 2026 | 10.50 | 12.20 | — |
| Jun 2026 | 10.50 | 12.45 | 14.50 |
| May 2026 | 10.50 | 12.50 | — |
| Apr 2026 | 10.78 | 12.87 | 14.50 |
| Mar 2026 | 11.45 | 13.38 | 14.90 |
| Feb 2026 | 11.95 | 14.25 | 14.90 |
| Jan 2026 | 12.00 | 14.50 | 15.79 |
| Dec 2025 | 12.00 | 14.50 | 16.00 |
| Nov 2025 | 11.50 | 14.50 | 16.00 |
| Oct 2025 | 11.50 | 14.50 | 16.00 |
| Sep 2025 | 11.50 | 14.50 | 16.25 |
| Aug 2025 | 11.50 | 14.50 | 15.50 |
| Jul 2025 | 11.50 | 14.50 | 16.50 |
| Jun 2025 | 11.00 | 14.50 | 16.50 |
| May 2025 | 11.00 | 14.50 | 16.50 |
| Apr 2025 | 11.00 | 14.55 | 16.50 |
| Mar 2025 | 11.05 | 14.87 | 18.45 |
| Feb 2025 | 11.27 | 15.05 | 19.45 |
| Jan 2025 | 11.50 | 15.50 | 19.95 |
| Dec 2024 | 10.75 | 15.50 | 20.00 |
| Nov 2024 | 10.00 | 15.50 | 19.90 |
| Oct 2024 | 10.20 | 17.00 | 19.99 |
| Sep 2024 | 10.75 | 19.00 | 21.45 |
| Aug 2024 | 10.75 | 19.00 | 21.50 |
| Jul 2024 | 10.88 | 18.20 | 20.50 |
| Jun 2024 | 10.80 | 17.65 | 20.50 |
| May 2024 | 9.57 | 15.80 | 20.00 |
| Apr 2024 | 9.50 | 15.50 | 20.00 |
| Mar 2024 | 9.50 | 15.48 | 20.00 |
| Feb 2024 | 9.50 | 15.45 | 20.00 |
| Jan 2024 | 9.50 | 15.45 | 20.00 |
| Dec 2023 | 9.45 | 15.45 | 22.00 |
| Nov 2023 | 9.45 | 14.98 | 22.00 |
| Oct 2023 | 9.45 | 15.05 | 21.00 |
| Sep 2023 | 10.08 | 15.40 | 21.50 |
| Aug 2023 | 9.53 | 15.78 | 22.00 |
| Jul 2023 | 9.65 | 16.05 | 22.00 |
| Jun 2023 | 9.80 | 16.05 | 22.00 |
| May 2023 | 10.00 | 15.88 | 22.00 |
| Apr 2023 | 10.08 | 15.75 | 22.00 |
| Mar 2023 | 10.00 | 15.75 | 22.00 |
| Feb 2023 | 10.00 | 15.50 | 22.00 |
| Jan 2023 | 9.75 | 14.99 | 22.00 |
| Dec 2022 | 10.00 | 15.00 | 22.00 |
| Nov 2022 | 10.00 | 15.00 | 22.00 |
| Oct 2022 | 10.00 | 15.00 | 22.00 |
| Sep 2022 | 9.97 | 15.00 | 22.00 |
| Aug 2022 | 9.87 | 15.00 | 22.00 |
| Jul 2022 | 9.21 | 14.63 | 22.00 |
| Jun 2022 | 9.30 | 14.00 | 20.00 |
| May 2022 | 9.30 | 13.75 | 20.00 |
| Apr 2022 | 9.33 | 13.57 | 20.00 |
| Mar 2022 | 9.40 | 13.90 | 20.00 |
| Feb 2022 | 9.49 | 14.69 | 20.25 |
| Jan 2022 | 9.50 | 15.00 | 20.00 |
| Dec 2021 | 9.46 | 14.38 | 19.80 |
| Nov 2021 | 9.65 | 12.00 | 20.71 |
| Oct 2021 | 10.22 | 14.20 | 20.95 |
| Sep 2021 | 12.62 | 20.12 | 22.48 |
| Aug 2021 | 13.99 | 23.57 | 29.62 |
| Jul 2021 | 13.99 | 25.50 | 30.70 |
| Jun 2021 | 14.01 | 25.62 | 30.65 |
| May 2021 | 14.03 | 25.75 | 32.70 |
| Apr 2021 | 14.03 | 25.75 | 32.70 |
| Mar 2021 | 14.03 | 25.75 | 32.70 |
| Feb 2021 | 14.03 | 25.75 | 32.70 |
| Jan 2021 | 14.01 | 25.75 | 32.70 |
| Dec 2020 | 14.00 | 24.52 | 32.70 |
| Nov 2020 | 14.00 | 24.54 | 32.70 |
| Oct 2020 | 14.00 | 24.51 | 32.70 |
| Sep 2020 | 14.00 | 24.50 | 32.70 |
| Aug 2020 | 14.38 | 25.20 | 32.70 |
| Jul 2020 | 15.31 | 26.10 | 32.70 |
| Jun 2020 | 17.25 | 28.38 | 32.18 |
| May 2020 | 16.50 | 29.00 | 30.31 |
| Apr 2020 | 16.50 | 29.25 | 29.75 |
| Mar 2020 | 16.50 | 29.19 | 29.75 |
| Feb 2020 | 16.50 | 28.81 | 29.75 |
| Jan 2020 | 16.50 | 27.85 | 29.75 |
Short rates moving above long rates is the classic signal of a market pricing near-term stress.
Source: Bank of Zambia auctions. Data to Sep 2026. Explore the data
A yield is simply the return the government has to promise to get investors to lend it money for a fixed period. When the 91-day yield rises, the government is paying more to borrow for three months — usually because banks have better things to do with their kwacha, or because they expect inflation to erode what they get back.
The spread is the story
The gap between short and long yields is where the information lives. A steep curve — long rates well above short ones — says the market expects growth and tolerable inflation. A flat or inverted curve says the opposite, and it says it earlier than most official forecasts do.
These charts read directly from the KSJ economic database, which carries monthly Zambian macro data going back to 2011.
