Author: Julius Alagbe

Sterling Rises on Elevated U.K Interest Rates, Weak U.S Dollar Sterling traded around $1.29, hovering near four-month highs, supported by broad dollar weakness amid concerns over the US economy and the potential impact of upcoming tariffs. The dollar is fragile and would be hit by a soft number, ING said in a note on Friday. However, the DXY has already seen its biggest weekly drop since November 2022 (3.5% versus 4.2%) and current long dollar positioning is probably nowhere near where it was in late 2022 after a two-year dollar rally. On Monday, Sterling is gaining strength from expectations that…

Naira Plunges as Offshore Demand Eclipses FX Inflows Reversing recent past positive movements, the Nigerian local currency, the naira, plunged against the US dollar across the foreign exchange (FX) markets due to tight liquidity levels available at the supply side. Both the official and parallel markets felt the negative impacts of US dollar scarcity, with demand rising faster than market supply. Spot data from the FMDQ platform revealed that the naira depreciated by 0.33%, closing at ₦1,517.24 per US dollar on Friday even as the Central Bank restarted FX sales to banks. The local currency wobbled in the week, reversing…

World Must Listen to Africa — Chinese Foreign Minister Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Friday, said the stability of Africa’s development would be vital to the future of humanity. Wang said that the world must, therefore, listen to Africa and its concerns. He said this at a news conference on China’s external relations. The foreign minister spoke on the sidelines of the Third Session of the 14th National People’s Congress in Beijing. Wang highlighted strategic partnerships established by China with all African countries which had diplomatic ties with it. According to him, Africa is a fertile land of hope.…

CBN Returns N1.2trn from OMO, TBills Bids, Cuts Rates Nigeria’s attractive short-term investment options continue to attract local and foreign investors into the financial market. Institutional investors, local banks, and asset managers’ appetite for fixed income assets maintained an uptrend even as spot rates began to decline. In its latest primary market auctions, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised more than N2.5 trillion in consecutive days. Details from the OMO bills and Treasury bills auction conducted on Wednesday and Thursday showed more than N1.2 trillion in investment money were rejected by the apex bank. For Treasury bills, the CBN…

Trade War Has no Winner, Protectionism Leads Nowhere, Says China The success of China and the U.S. will present opportunities not threats because both share extensive common interests and a broad cooperation space, says China’s Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao. Wang said this at a news conference organised on the sidelines of the Third Session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) on Thursday in Beijing. He was speaking on China’s strategy in addressing tariff increments by the U.S. on Chinese goods. He said that trade war had no winner and protectionism led nowhere. “These practices of extortion with the threat…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised N1.68 trillion from OMO bills allotted to authorised participants—local deposit money banks and foreign portfolio investors—at the primary market auction on Thursday.

N Seven Offers N81.60/s to Buy Minority Stake in Guinness Nigeria N Seven, the new single largest shareholder of Guinness Nigeria Plc, has offered to take out minority interest at N81.60. The move followed its successful acquisition of a 58.02% controlling stake in Guinness Nigeria Plc. In a regulatory filing, N Seven seeks a mandatory takeover offer to acquire additional shares from minority shareholders at ₦81.60 per share. The step was taken after it purchased 1,270,943,368 ordinary shares from Atalantaf Limited and Guinness Overseas Limited, cementing its majority ownership in the company. The offer will cover 481,362,887 shares from existing…

Nigeria Eurobond Yield Rises as FPIs Embark on Asset Trimming Offshore of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) trimmed Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobond holdings in the international market amidst riskoff sentiment.   Foreign investors’ sentiments turned bearish as portfolio managers continued to assess key developments in the Nigerian market in relation to global market conditions. At the February meeting, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) left the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and other key parameters unchanged, signaling a wait-and-see approach as it assessed the transmission effect of previous rate hikes on the economy. By maintaining the status quo, the CBN aimed to avoid unnecessary…

Nigeria’s Bonds Yield Trend Raises Fresh Concerns The local bonds market saw limited activity with most participants staying on the sidelines despite some offers around the mid-tenors. Trading volumes were low, with most of the activity focused on the April 2029 and February 2031 papers. Still, there profit taking trading activities were noticed across the segments. Most of the sell trade centered on the Feb-31 maturity, which closed at 18.75%, 5bps higher when compared to the previous day’s close of 18.70%. Overall, the average benchmark yield stayed muted at 18.4%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield increased at the…

CBN Cuts Interest Rate on Treasury Bills Below 18% The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cut spot rates on Nigerian Treasury bills at the primary market auction on Wednesday in a bid to reduce its payment burden. The Apex Bank has been scaling back on elevated discount rates offered on the Treasury bills paper due to strong demand and the fact that the benchmark interest rate has raced ahead of the country’s headline inflation. At the primary market auction on Wednesday, the CBN offered ₦650 billion worth of bills across standard maturities to investors for subscription. Investors bid for…