Author: Julius Alagbe

Oil Prices Drop as Market Price US-Iran Talks Optimism Crude oil price movements tightened in the global commodity market amidst supply and demand imbalance with geopolitical unease, optimism surrounding US-Iran talks, and a shift in global trading directions. Oil prices posted a weekly decline on Friday, weighed down by increased production from the OPEC+ alliance and the potential for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The market also priced in renewed optimism surrounding a US-Iran nuclear deal and concerns over escalating US-China trade tensions. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at $66.87 per barrel at Friday’s trading close,…

Naira Rate Closed at N1599 as CBN Keeps FX Tap Open The naira popped higher against the US dollar to close at N1598.54 in the official window acknowledged by the Central Bank of Nigeria for daily FX spot rate. The Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) opened quietly after the holidays but turned bullish on the US dollar, prompting the CBN to intervene with an estimated $50 million sale at $/₦1598.85–1605.00. Throughout the week, liquidity improved with inflows from oil and gas exporters, alongside consistent CBN intervention, AIICO Capital Limited said in its investor update this week. Analysts said FX volatility…

CBN Hikes Interest Rates on OMO Bills to Keep Foreign Investors To keep foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased spot rates on OMO bills by more than 300 basis points across two tenors, details from its late primary market auction conducted on Friday revealed. As part of its monetary authority programme, the CBN opened N500 billion worth of OMO bills for subscription, having scaled back supply to once per month since the beginning of the year. The offer was split into N250.00 billion for OMO bills with 298-day maturity and N250.00 billion for bills…

CBN Rejects 53% of Nigerian Treasury Bills Auction Bids Due to robust demand for the naira assets, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rejected a huge part of excess subscriptions submitted by investors at the primary market auction and still went further to cut discount rates. At the main auction conducted on Wednesday, the Apex Bank offered N400 billion, but investors’ appetite was stronger, and this resulted in total subscriptions of N1.54 trillion – reflecting increased demand for the naira assets. The authority raised above its standard offers, though more than 53% of aggregate subscriptions submitted by investors was rejected.…

Lafarge Grows Profit by 837% in Q1, Declares Interim Dividend Lafarge Africa Plc grew profit by more than 836% to N48.64 billion in the first quarter of 2025, the cement company said in a regulatory filing. As a result of the cement company’s monster earnings growth in the first three months, the board has proposed an interim dividend of N4.00 per share. The amount translates to a 5.1% dividend yield based on the closing price of N79.20 as of 24 April. Details showed that Lafarge Africa’s revenue surged by 80.3% in Q1, underpinned by strong growth across all business segments—cement,…

MTN Nigeria Rallies Softly on Huge Shares Volume MTN Nigeria Plc’s market value increased by 251 basis points, or 2.51%, to N5.143 trillion on Thursday following a mild rally on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) trading platform. Telecom companies are coming out from a rough macroeconomic patch that emanated from the devaluation of the Nigerian naira—majorly. According to data from the NGX trading platform, MTN Nigeria’s share price inched higher from N239 to N245, a floor that the telecom stock has been unable to breach since its loss-making spree. The soft rally, in spite of huge share volume traded, lifted MTN…

Euro Falls to $1.13 against Dollar in FX Market The euro fell near the $1.13 mark in the forex markets on Thursday following the U.S. move to slash tariffs on China’s exports by half. This market-related surprise development sent the U.S. dollar roaring across the board and pressured the euro after weeks of steady rally. The greenback’s strength has eaten into the euro to the point where the old continent’s currency has lost about 2.3% from its valuation, or 270 pips, in the span of less than three trading sessions. On Monday, the euro hit a three-year high of $1.1572.…

DMO to Open Nigerian Bonds Worth N350bn for Subscription The Debt Management Office (DMO) said it will reopen two Federal Government of Nigerian Bonds, valued at N350 billion for auction, at a subscription rate of N1,000 per unit. DMO disclosed this in a statement noting that the offers will be auctioned on April 28 and have their settlement date by April 30. DMO also said that it is authorised to receive applications for bonds in two tranches, with the first being N200 billion for a five-year savings bond due to mature in April 2029, at 19.3 percent per annum. According…

Interbank Rates Mixed on Surplus Banking System Liquidity Interbank rates were mixed as liquidity balance in the financial system remained substantial to meet banks’ and other financial service players funding demand. Data from the FMDQ platform revealed that the short-term interest rates closed around 26% in the absence of significant funding pressures in the money market on Wednesday. Banks borrowing activities at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) standing lending facility (SLF) also slowed, while there have been significant inflows channeled into the deposit facility. Hence, Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) declined across all tenors, indicating improved liquidity conditions in…

CBN Cuts Interest Rates on Nigerian Treasury Bills The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cut interest rates on Nigerian Treasury bills as demand for the naira assets soared at the primary market auction on Wednesday. MarketForces Africa reported that the Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the CBN auctioned N400 billion worth of bills across standard maturities midweek. Results of the auction revealed that investors demand came strong, with total subscriptions reaching N1.54 trillion against the N400 billion offered. The DMO ultimately sold N714.38 billion, with stop rates declining across tenors – reversing previous auction trend. Treasury bills with…