Author: Julius Alagbe

US Federal Reserve Ignores Trump Threats, Keeps Rates The US Federal Reserve’s kept fed fund rates unchanged as the monetary authority highlighted the risk of higher unemployment and inflation. The decision contradicts US President Donald Trump stance on interest rates. Trump had earlier slammed Jerome Powell, the US Fed chair that he is not doing a good job. Powell has refused Trump interest rates cut since the beginning of the year. Federal Open Market Committee minutes reads that, “Although swings in net exports have affected the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid…

CBN Hikes Rate on Nigerian Treasury Bills, Rejects Excess Bid The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hikes discount rate on local treasury bills with 364-day maturity at the primary market auction on Wednesday. However, the apex bank kept spot rates on 91-day and 182-day tenors unchanged from the previous auction pricing, according to the auction results. The authority opened N550 billion worth of Nigerian Treasury bills for investors’ subscription midweek. Reflecting investors; appetite for the naira asset, and solid investors’ sentiment, the subscription came stronger. Investors sought to park N1.087 trillion into Nigerian Treasury bills, doubling down on the amount…

Naira Exchange Rates Fall Despite CBN FX Injection Nigeria’s multiple exchange rates face the same direction in the currency market on the back of liqudity, reflecting draught of US dollar in the market in the absence of aggressive FX intervention. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) daily FX spot rate showed that the local currency fell by about N2 to N1,608.60 at Nigeria foreign exchange market (NFEM),which has become the official defence rate, from N1606.64. FMDQ spot FX rate showed that, the naira nosedived against the US dollar to close at N1,615 amidst liquidity challenge. In the absence of sufficient…

MTN Nigeria Hits 52-Week High in Fresh Rally Traded at 52-week high in the stock market, MTN Nigeria Plc.’s market value soared by about 10% in the equities market as the telecommunication company attracted investors attention. According to data from the Nigerian Exchange, MTN Nigeria share price rose by 9.16% as 2.442 million units valued at N677.411 million exchanged hands. The telecom market value increased on the day, settling at N5.981 trillion as market reacted to its impressive earnings results in the first quarter of 2025. Analysts highlighted that the tariff increase by the regulator and MTN Nigeria tower renegotiation…

CBN Injects about $2.5bn in FX Market to Defend Naira in April In April, the naira survived fast and furious pressures in the foreign exchange market primarily on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) successive foreign currency intervention sales to authorised dealer banks. Demand for dollars spiked due to a raft of flight-to-safety actions that caused increased demand for the greenback for upstreaming abroad. Still, the local currency remains on the CBN FX intervention support. The authority became aggressive with FX sales due to offshore investors’ rush to exit naira positions, which caused increased demand for US dollars. The naira…

CBN Offers OMO Bills for Subscription to Refinance Old Asset The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has opened fresh open market operations (OMO) bills to foreign portfolio investors and authorised local deposit money banks (DMBs) for subscriptions at the primary market as about N240 billion was set to mature. The monetary authority is in the process of conducting additional open market operations worth N500 billion across standard maturities on Tuesday, reinforcing its stance on tightening system liquidity amid persistently elevated levels. This move is in line with efforts to sustain positive real returns, especially as headline inflation prints at 24.23%,…

Oil Rebounds as Markets Assimilate OPEC+ Output Raise Oil rebounded in the global commodity market after a sharp drop triggered by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies’ (OPEC+) announcement to increase production amid ongoing concerns about oversupply. The markets weighed the increased supply with demand patterns with the expectation that China’s demand will pick up and uncertainties in the US will ease. Brent crude rose by around 1.94%, trading at $61.42 per barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose about 2.01%, reaching $58.15 per barrel, up from $57 in the previous session. Prices rebounded on profit-taking after…

National Identity Management Commission Launches NIN Authentication Service The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) inauguration of the NIMC NIN Authentication (NNAuth) for secure and seamless identity verification and authentication. This is contained in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday by the Head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, Dr. Kayode Adegoke. Adegoke said that similarly, the presidency had directed the use of NIN authentication for verification and authentication across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). He explained that this was in line with the commission’s mandate of regulating a reliable national digital identity for citizens and…

Bonds, Treasury Bills Yields Gap Reach 200 Basis Points In the secondary market, the gap between Nigerian government bonds and Treasury bill yields reached 200 basis points after disinflation reduced real return on investment in the market to 3.27%. Headline inflation rose to 24.23% in March, versus a benchmark interest rate of 27.50%, which some analysts anticipate will remain at the current level as the Central Bank cannot afford to cut the rate. In the bond market on Monday, minimal activity and limited offers were observed at the mid-segment of the curve. Hence, trading activity was tight as secondary market…

Returns on Nigerian Treasury Bills Stay Healthy Ahead of Auction The average yield on Nigerian Treasury Bills declined to 21.03% ahead of the midweek auction. Investors were seen taking positions at the beginning of the trading week across the short, belly, and long ends of the curve. Investors’ appetite for naira assets remained strong and healthy despite spot rate fluctuations seen at the recent past auctions and disinflation, which has reduced real return on investors. In the secondary market, selective interest in Nigerian Treasury bills was seen at the long end, particularly in the 19 Feb paper (-44bps), pulling the…