- Global Markets Mixed as Hawkish Talks Rattle US Mega Stocks
- Prices of Crude Oil Hold Below $80 on US-Iran Peace Progress
- Nigerian Treasury Bills Yields Fall on Naira Asset Attractiveness
- OMO Debit Drains Money Market Liquidity, Overnight Rate Dips
- Naira Falls as Interbank FX Turnover Dips 52% on Reduced Deal Count
- XRP Dives to Technical Battleground as Grayscale’s GXRP Trust Selloff
- Monetary Policy Focused on Price Stability in 2025 – CBN
- Nigeria’s Domestic Economy Expanded by 3.87% in 2025 – CBN
Author: Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Bitcoin (BTC) price climbed by 3% to $65, 151 outperforming a broadly rising crypto market
Chainlink (LINK) price climbed by 5.74% to $8.41, outperforming a rising broader market, primarily driven by a major ecosystem migration boosting utility demand.
Cardano (ADA) price surged by about 4% to $0.164, slightly outperforming Bitcoin’s +3.07%
Zcash Gains 13% Ahead of Upcoming Ironwood Upgrade Zcash gained 13.37% in 24 hours to $571.88, significantly outperforming the broader market rally, driven primarily by anticipation of the Ironwood network upgrade, which addresses a critical security vulnerability. The rally is anchored to the scheduled mainnet activation of the Ironwood upgrade around July 28. This update eliminates a counterfeiting vulnerability disclosed in June within the Orchard shielded pool, which is central to Zcash’s privacy. The upgrade directly addresses a major security concern that had undermined investor trust, providing a fundamental reason for renewed buying. Futures open interest for ZEC briefly exceeded…
Trump Threatens Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants Next Week Without a Deal U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States would expand its strikes on Iran to target power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran agrees to negotiate. “Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” Trump said. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.” The U.S. president said that Iran’s military has been “degraded to a very…
Rand Gains as Softer US Inflation Weighs on Dollar The South African rand (ZAR) gained momentum, strengthening against the US dollar on Wednesday as a softer US inflation print reduced Federal Reserve rate-hike expectations. The local unit traded firmer as the market priced in softer-than-expected US inflation data, which weighed on the US dollar and improved sentiment towards emerging-market currencies. US consumer prices fell as the US-Iran ceasefire, now terminated, eased energy prices, reducing pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates and supporting demand for risk assets. The South African rand is changing hands at R16.34 to the…
Brent Tops $85 as Supply Risk Raises Oil Prices Brent crude climbed above $85 a barrel on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump threatened to target Iran’s energy infrastructure if negotiations fail, reviving concerns that an escalation in the Gulf could disrupt global oil supplies. International benchmark Brent crude traded at $85.30 per barrel, up 0.7% from the previous close of $84.73. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $79.66 per barrel, up 0.4% from $79.34 in the previous session. Trump said Tuesday that US strikes against Iran would continue and intensify in the coming days, warning that Washington…
The Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) Nigeria has urged coordinated reforms to strengthen governance,…
A surprise drop in the June U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) – the largest monthly decline since April 2020 – crushed expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Galaxy today announced the launch of the Galaxy On-chain Financing Rate (GOFR), a fully managed, risk-controlled lending program that lets clients access on-chain credit markets through Galaxy.