Author: Julius Alagbe

Naira Rises after CBN Sells $50m to Boost FX Supply The naira rebounded against the US dollar at the Nigerian foreign exchange market a day after the Central Bank (CBN) sold $50 million to authorised dealer banks to strengthen supply. The local currency exchange rate came under pressure as demand for the US dollar surpassed FX supply in the local currency market.  The naira appreciated by 0.14% to ₦1,452.13/$ in the official window and strengthened 0.32% to ₦1,469/$ in the parallel market, reflecting easing pressure and improving sentiment.  Trading data from the CBN showed that spot FX rate touched intraday…

Equities investors’ portfolio value on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) declined by about N292 billion as selling pressures hit Wema Bank, Oando and others.

Money Market Funding Costs Ease Despite Huge OMO Actions Money market funding costs declined as liquidity levels remained in surplus despite a series of open market operations conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Apex Bank turned aggressive with liquidity management this week as the funding profile expanded sharply after previous OMO bill repayments. Still, the short-term benchmark interest rates brushed off liquidity tightening efforts. In the week, OMO bills have been floated twice, while the authority accommodates excess subscription with above-the-offer-size allotment. The market liquidity opened the day with a surplus balance of ₦2.7 trillion, reflecting an…

CBN Intervenes in FX Market with $50m as Naira Faces Pressure The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was in the forex market to support the local currency, selling $50 million to authorised dealer banks to strengthen the supply side. The naira started facing intense heat as FX inflows continued to reduce, while US dollar demand for foreign payment was on the rise. Since the naira gained weight, the CBN has become less aggressive with FX sales. However, the authority was forced to pump hard currency into the official window as the naira exchange rate worsened. The naira depreciated by ₦6.76…

CBN Allots N903bn Worth of OMO Bills, 188-D Price at 20.54% The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted an open market operation on Wednesday where N600 billion worth of OMO bills was floated for investors’ subscription. With more than N5 trillion in free funds, a slew of analysts anticipated that both the midweek treasury bills and OMO auction will attract investors’ attention. The Apex Bank action reflects the need to mop up excess liquidity level in the financial system. The CBN offered OMO bills to eligible market participants – foreign portfolio investors and deposit money banks—across two tenors. The…

PEBEC Reaffirms Commitment to Collaborate With MDAs on Service Delivery The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has reiterated its commitment to collaborate with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure seamless, responsive, and business-friendly service delivery across the nation. The Director-General of PEBEC, Mrs Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. She commended the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on the recent nationwide clearance of driver’s licence backlog. She acknowledged the prompt and comprehensive actions taken by the corps in response to service delivery concerns regarding delays in the production of driver’s licences nationwide. “Following…

Bank of England December Rate Cut Now ‘Very Likely’ – CEO UK inflation rate rising to 3.6% in the year to October, a fall from the three preceding months, means a Bank of England rate cut in December is now very likely, predicts the CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group. The prediction from Nigel Green comes as the latest official figures show that consumer price inflation in the UK has cooled to 3.6% in October, down from 3.8% in September. At the same time, the Bank of England’s November Monetary Policy Committee minutes reveal the committee voted by…

Cloudflare to Acquire Replicate to Build Most Seamless AI Cloud for Developers Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading connectivity cloud company, announced it has agreed to acquire Replicate, an AI platform that makes it easy for developers to deploy and run AI models. The company said this acquisition will accelerate the company’s vision to make Cloudflare Workers the leading end-to-end platform for building and running scalable, fast, and reliable AI applications. Soon, developers building on Cloudflare will be able to access any AI model globally with just one line of code. AI was initially the domain of academics and advanced…

Dollar Mixed Ahead of U.S Jobs, CPI Data The US dollar traded on a mixed note against trading partners, the euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen ahead of jobs data amidst weeks of speculation over a Fed rate cut in December. The Euro to Dollar (EURUSD) exchange rate has consolidated around 1.16 on Tuesday after finding support below 1.15 in early November. The dollar gained 0.46% to 155.26 yen on Tuesday. The dollar reached nearly JPY155.5 in early European trading today.  The Japanese economy contracted at an annualised rate of 1.8% in Q3, which was slightly less than…

Nigeria’s Foreign Reserves Climb to $46 billion, CBN Says Nigeria’s foreign reserves surged past $46 billion, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, said at a forum. Cardoso, who was represented by the Deputy Governor of the Economic Policy Directorate, Dr. Muhammad Abdullahi, disclosed this at the opening of the Monetary Policy Department’s 20th anniversary colloquium at the CBN headquarters in Abuja He said it was the first time the country had reached such a level since 2018, adding that the number could cover over 10 months of imports. According to the deputy governor, lending rates may…