Author: Julius Alagbe

Kenya Inflation Declines to 3.8% in May Kenya’s annual inflation eased to 3.8% in May 2025, from an eight-month high of 4.1% in April. The inflation remained well within the central bank’s 2.5% to 7.5% target range. Price growth slowed for food and non-alcoholic beverages (6.3% vs 7.1% in April), while remained steady for transport (at 2.3%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.5% in May, following a 0.3% rise in the previous month. #Kenya Inflation Declines to 3.8% in May# South African Rand Weakened Against Dollar

Nigeria’s $26bn Debt Request: Risky Gamble on Growth amid Fiscal Fragility –Cowry Asset Nigeria’s renewed external borrowing drive has continued to generate reactions, though the authority has claimed move to seek approval is in line with its medium term expenditure framework. However, the ever rising appetite for loans, and the size of latest borrowing request reignited conversations around Nigeria’s fiscal sustainability. In commentary note, experts at Cowry Asset Management Limited release by its research arm said request $26 billion in loan approval is a risky gamble on growth amidst fiscal fragility. With a fast rising debt profile, the government appears…

Naira – CBN Rate Closed at N1586 against Dollar The naira official rate quote on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) FX platform settled at N1586 per dollar, unchanged from the previous day’s close in the absence of demand pressures. The market experienced some level of stability for the last trading session in May 2025. The Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the official rate for the CBN, closed at N1586.1524 per dollar, from N1586.20 on Thursday. Forex market liquidity remains sufficient to match aggregate corporate demand for foreign currency, traders said, noting that the local currency will stay range-bound with…

Fitch Affirms Bank of Industry at ‘B’ with Stable Outlook Fitch Ratings has affirmed Nigeria-based Bank of Industry Limited’s (BOI) credit or Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ and its National Long-Term Rating at ‘AAA(nga) with a stable outlook. The global ratings agency said BOI’s IDRs are driven by potential support from the authorities in Nigeria, as reflected by its Government Support Rating (GSR) of ‘b’ and are equalised with the country’s ratings. According to Fitch, the stable outlook on BOI’s credit rating mirrors that on the sovereign. BOI’s national long-term rating is the highest attainable rating on Nigeria’s…

Oil Prices Dip as Market Anticipates OPEC+ Output Raise Oil prices declined as the market anticipated that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) would increase output in July. Brent crude futures slipped 21 cents, or 0.33%, to $63.94 a barrel on Friday while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 22 cents, or 0.36%, to $60.72 a barrel. Oil prices were on track for a second consecutive weekly decline on Friday, weighed down by expectations of another OPEC+ output hike in July amidst uncertainties in US trade policy. A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump’s…

Nigeria Bonds Rally, Debt Market Investors Sense Tight Supply In the secondary market, the Nigerian government bonds market rallied as investors continued to increase their bets on the naira assets in hopes of strong economic growth and fiscal strength. Demand climbed in the secondary market as fixed-interest securities investors sensed a limited bond supply at the Debt Management Office’s monthly auction. The monthly auction subscription was less impressive than market analysts had thought, and DMO struggled to meet demand with lower spot rates. With disinflation, real return on investment has remained attractive given the monetary authority’s decision to keep the…

Seplat Energy Falls by 10% as Investors Exit Positions In a rare move, Seplat Energy Plc. lost 10% of its market value in the equities market as investors exited positions in the energy company stock. The price depreciation recorded by the market moving energy stock reflected negative sentiment some investors had over the company in the short term ahead of the second quarter of 2025 earnings.  Analysts said the negative share price movement reduced Seplat Energy Plc.’s market value by about N325 billion in a single day trading session, though volume was considered tiny. According to data obtained from the…

NVIDIA Posts $44bn Revenue for Q1, Announces Cash Dividend NVIDIA posted $44.1 billion revenue for the first quarter ended April 27, 2025, up 12% from the previous quarter and up 69% from a year ago, the company said in an official statement released. The company announced plan to pay cash dividend to shareholders in July following its earnings beat. Wall Street was looking for an adjusted earnings per share of $0.93 on sales of $43.25 billion, while Nvidia printed $0.96 on sales of $44.06 billion for the quarter. NVIDIA said on April 9, 2025, NVIDIA was informed by the U.S.…

Nigeria’s Bold Tax Reforms Already Yielding Results – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said one of his administration’s most impactful achievements was its bold tax reform agenda, which had started yielding results. The President said this in a statement to mark the second anniversary of his administration. He said by the end of 2024, the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio rose from 10 per cent to over 13.5 per cent, a remarkable leap in just one year. He said this was a result of deliberate improvement in tax administration and policies designed to make the tax system fairer, more efficient, and…

Market Rates Diverge as Financial System Liquidity Fluctuates In the money market, the short-term interest rates benchmark diverged as the liquidity level in the financial system fluctuated rapidly amidst the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) market actions. Inflows from OMO bills totaling N984.22 billion had lifted the funding profile and caused money market rates to trend below 27%. The market also recorded inflows from 13% derivation funds and state disbursements. Hence, the CBN moved to absorb excess liquidity via a ₦600 billion OMO auction across mid-tenor, which saw ₦687.13 billion in bids and ₦482.33 billion allotted. On Tuesday, the CBN…