Author: Julius Alagbe

Nigeria’s Eurobonds Yield Falls Ahead External Borrowing Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds yields fell at the international market ahead of the expiration of a $1.12 billion US dollar-denominated borrowing note issued in 2018. Reflecting positive sentiment, foreign portfolio investors increased bets on the country’s US dollar as the government plans to raise $2.85 billion in the Q4 including $500 million in Sukuk. Due to the trend in the market, the average benchmark yield declined by 20 basis points week on week to 7.59% on Friday, investment firms said in reports. The African Eurobonds traded market experienced mixed activity throughout the week but…

Naira Gains N54/$ as External Reserves Rise by $820m in Oct. The naira gained about N54 against the US dollar at the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM) in October, supported by offshore investors’ FX supply, exporters’ inflows and rising external reserves. The local currency closed the month at N1421 per dollar despite minimal FX intervention by the Central Bank, from N1,475 per dollar at the official window on September 30. Most analysts said the local currency leveraged a broader selloff in the dollar index as global Central Banks launched another round of rate cuts. Nigeria’s FX receipts from hydrocarbon sales…

Oando Fires Up, Gains 12% as Investors Bet on ‘Possibilities’ Oando Plc’s market value surged by about 12% week on week as the group’s earnings direction was altered by its favourable tax positions.  The market anticipates the bulky surge of 164% will boost investors’ sentiment, and triggered fresh re-rating. In first 10 months, Oando lost 24% of its market value. Stockholders sell down after the energy group delivered mouthwatering returns to investors in 2024. With the new earnings playbook. Oando saw a fresh significant weekly gain. The energy group share price surged to N48.05 on Nigerian Exchange on Friday as…

CBN to Open N650bn Treasury Bills for Subscription Next Week The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will conduct a primary market auction next week where N650 billion worth of Treasury bills paper will be offered for subscription. Next week, a total of ₦662.76 billion in Treasury bills and ₦1.44 trillion in OMO bill maturities are expected to mature. The inflows are anticipated to boost the liquidity level in the financial system. As a result, fixed-income market analysts expect auction demand to remain strong, particularly at the longer end of the curve. The fixed income market closed the month on a…

Foreign Investors Dump Nigeria OMO Bills Ahead of Repayment The average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills and OMO papers surged during the week due to significant sell pressures witnessed in the secondary market. Portfolio rebalancing and downbeat investors’ sentiment boosted yields on short-term borrowing instruments. Specifically, foreign portfolio investors and local deposit money banks trimmed their interest in OMO bills ahead of N1.44 trillion repayment next week. Due to sustained yield tightening and spot rates priced down amidst a firming naira, investors offloaded their positions, with large offers particularly seen in the OMO segment. Investors exited positions amidst anticipated disinflation,…

Zenith Bank Price Target Sets at N81 after Q3 Earnings Reflecting a positive upside potential of about 30%, investment firm AAG Capital Limited has set N81 as the target price for Zenith Bank Plc following a third quarter of 2025 earnings release. Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed Zenith Bank share price closed at N63, which translates to 29% upside potential at the reference price. With its higher net asset value compared with stock market price, analysts told MarketForces Africa that Zenith Bank is grossly undervalued. Net asset of Zenith Bank surged by 34.8% to N4.730 trillion from N3.508…

British Pound Falls Ahead of Rate Decision, November Budget The British pound, or sterling, closed negative against the US dollar at markets priced in the Bank of England interest rate cut on November 6, and Uk fiscal budget. UK fiscal pressure has become a concern, and this has triggered steep sell pressure across forex markets at the time China and the US are enhancing their trade relationship. The trade war truce continues to help the dollar, which saw most gains against trading partners this week. Sterling has had a tough week, though the economic diary was light. It was sold…

Euro Falls Against Dollar as Single Currency Faces Sell-Off The European Union single currency, the euro, eased toward $1.15 in the forex market; the single currency saw the weakest level since late July following the European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision. There’s some speculation in the market that the euro could fall below $1.15 but this looks unlikely given prospects of further weak U.S. jobs data,ING FX analyst Francesco Pesole said in a note. The ECB held its deposit rate at 2%, marking a third pause since June’s cut. The Monetary Policy Committee’s statement gave little to no forward guidance, with…

DXY Hits 3-Month High on Deescalated US-China Trade Tension The US dollar index (DXY) is near a three-month high at 99.80, on track for a second consecutive monthly gain, supported by deescalated trade tension while expectations of another rate cut fade. A combination of the hawkish cut by the Fed and what appears to be an important de-escalation of US-China trade tensions helped lift the Dollar Index to a new high for the month. In Oct, the US dollar gained 4.11% against the Japanese Yen, settling at 154.01 on Friday. For the same period, the greenback has also gained 1.44%…

Naira Rises to N1421/$ as Nigeria’s External Reserves Surge In an all-week rally, the Nigerian local currency, the naira, appreciated sharply at the official window, settling at N1421/$ due to significant liquidity in the forex market. The local currency has gained N36 per dollar at the official window in the last five trading sessions. Updated data from the Central Bank indicates that the spot rate surged by 107 basis points on Friday to N1421.73 per greenback. The spot rate touched an intraday high of N1434.5000 in the absence of FX pressures in the currency market. The official rate tested N1415…