Author: Julius Alagbe

CBN to Offer N400bn Treasury Bills for Subscriptions The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will open N400 billion worth of Nigerian Treasury bills (NTB) for investors’ subscriptions at the primary market auction scheduled for next week. The auction, which is expected to be led by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the monetary authority, will see offers across standard maturities: 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills. The authority was unavoidably absent in the just concluded week with zero offers, as analysts said DMO will more likely increase its borrowing plan to cater to the Nigerian government’s revenue shortfall following…

Naira Mixed as 9-Day Defensive FX Interventions Reduce Volatility The naira closed the trading session on a mixed note in the foreign exchange markets, while the exchange rate movements were influenced by the Apex Bank’s nine consecutive days of selling US dollars to authorised dealer banks. The naira depreciated near N1600 at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), which is the official exchange rate platform for the Central Bank. However, the naira appreciated by 1.29% in the parallel market to settle at N1,599.30. In what appeared to have become a norm, participants in the currency market largely anticipated FX sales…

CBN FX Rates for US Dollar, Sterling, Euro, Rand – Others The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) forex market data showed that the US dollar, sterling, and euro strengthened against the local currency, the naira, in the official window. Data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (CBN) showed that the naira closed at N1599.7991, losing 5 basis points from the previous close on Wednesday despite rounds of foreign currency supplied to authorised dealer banks. Exchange rates for the British pound, euro, and CFA also worsened on the day due to mild demand pressure that has kept the naira under intense…

AIICO Eurobond Yield Climbs to 7.17% in March AIICO Eurobond yield inched higher to 7.17% for the month of March, an official statement from the investment firm revealed. The Eurobond Fund closed March 2025 with a yield of 7.17%, reflecting an improvement from 7.02% in the previous month, the investment firm said in a note. According to AIICO Capital Limited, this uptick was primarily driven by the reinvestment of coupons and strategic positioning in high-yielding Eurobonds acquired at attractive valuations, in line with our commitment to long-term value creation. The investment managers explained that the Eurobond market exhibited notable volatility…

Naira Falls against Dollar, Pound as FX Reserves Dip Below $38bn The naira dropped against the US dollar to close at N1599 in the official market, or the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), data obtained from the Central Bank platform showed. The forex market liquidity has continued to buck the negative trend, bolstered by increased dollar inflows from local corporates and the central bank. The USD/NGN pair traded within a range of N1,575.00 to N1,620, according to data from the CBN. By the end of the session, the naira depreciated by 5 bps, closing at N1,599.7991. However, in the parallel…

Gambia Unlocks Access to $16.8m IMF Loan, More in Pipeline The Gambia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team reached a staff-level agreement on the request for access under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to enhance resilience to climate change. The authorities and the IMF team also reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the authorities’ reform program supported by the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility. In a statement, IMF said the Gambia’s outlook remains positive, with economic growth increasing to 6 percent in 2024 and inflation returning to a single digit in early 2025. Progress continues in…

Banking Stocks See Huge Intraday Selloffs, NGX Down Sharply In an effort to balance their portfolio holdings ahead of Q1 earnings, equities investors were seen dumping banking stocks during the intraday trading session on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The market is bleeding profusely with 81 basis point intraday decline in the market value of all listed stocks on the NGX. Investors’ sentiment turned red after the rebased consumer price index pulled back in March. Stockbrokers said they have been executing more sell orders following the latest disinflation. Coincidentally, some offshore portfolio investors have continued to sell down naira assets. At…

MTN Nigeria Slides amidst Huge Cross Deal Telecommunication company MTN Nigeria Plc saw its market value decline slightly in the equities market following a huge cross deal on the telecom stock on Tuesday. The deal allows stockbrokers to match a buy and sell orders of the same stock outside the purview of market regulators. According to data from the Nigerian Exchange, the telecom market value fell slightly to N5.1 trillion after a 16 basis point decline in its share price. More than 11.3 million shares of the telecom company valued at N2.738 billion exchanged hands on the local bourse, according…

Naira Rises as CBN Injects Additional Dollar into FX Market NAIRA: In the local currency market, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) official exchange rate appreciated by N5.50 per US dollar on Tuesday as FX demand pressures eased. Investment banking firm CardinalStone Partners Limited said in its investor note that the CBN was in the market today, selling over $30.00 million at rates between N1,590.00/$ and N1,601.50/$. Accordingly, the naira appreciated at the CBN NFEM window by 1.66% to close at N1,599.00 per greenback. However, in the parallel market, the naira depreciated by 31 bps to settle at N1,620.00/$. The…

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate jumped by 105 basis points to 24.23% in March, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed.