Author: Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe
Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
NGX Market Cap Hits ATH as Investors See N2.6trn Weekly Gain With the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) at an all-time high (ATH), equity investors recorded a weekly gain of about N2.6 trillion following a sustained rally in share prices. The NGX All-Share Index rose by 2.36 per cent to close at 166,129.50, while market capitalisation increased by 2.48 per cent to N106.354 trillion, up from the previous week’s 162,298.08 and N103.776 trillion, respectively. As a result, the stock market delivered a total gain of N2.578 trillion to investors within the review period. Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception…
Ethereum Classic Gains 4% as Crypto Investors Sentiment Improves Ethereum Classic (ETC) climbed by about 4% in the last 24 hours in the cryptocurrency market, outperforming its 7-day and 30-day trends, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. ETC navigates protocol upgrades and institutional interest while facing scepticism over its long-term viability. Its price surged following a new technical breakout, with a new rally forming. Trading data showed that ETC is hovering near $13 on Saturday as volume edged higher by about 5% to $70.18 million at the press time. This boosted ETC market capitalisation to $2.01 billion. Its local market cap…
XMR Plunges by 12% over Hack-Related Sell Pressures Monero (XMRUSD) plunged by approximately 12% in the last 24 hours in the cryptocurrency market, underperforming the broader crypto market’s 0.03% dip. The fast and furious price depreciation follows a 95% year-to-date upswing that lifted its market price to $799, driven by privacy demand amid tightening EU/Dubai regulations. Price has fallen to $628 in 24 hours, stemming from a triple threat: natural profit-taking after a vertical rally, hack-related sell pressure, and regulatory anxiety unique to privacy coins. XMRUSD rode on a privacy-fuelled rally but faces turbulence from whale movements and regulatory shadows.…
Ethiopia Gets $261m IMF Loan for BoP, Fiscal Financing Needs The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced the completion of the fourth review of the 48-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Ethiopia. The Board’s decision allows for an immediate disbursement of about US$261 million, helping Ethiopia meet its balance of payments (BoP) and fiscal financing needs. The completion of the review brings total disbursements under the arrangement to about US$2.183 billion. Ethiopia’s ECF arrangement for a total of SDR 2.556 billion – 850 percent of quota- or about US$3.4 billion at the time of program approval…
Oil Prices Surge Week-on-Week over Heightened Uncertainties Oil prices rose this week as investors priced in heightened uncertainties surrounding the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and growing geopolitical risks linked to developments in Venezuela, Iran and Cuba, which raised concerns over potential supply disruptions. International benchmark Brent crude traded at $64.04 per barrel, up 1.56% from last Friday’s close of $62.74. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.59% to $59.76 per barrel, compared with $58.61 a week earlier. Prices gained early in the week on expectations that the Fed could move toward interest rate cuts, weakening the US dollar and…
EU Removes Nigeria from Financial Crime Watch List Nigeria has achieved a major international milestone in its campaign against money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. This followed its removal from the European Union’s (EU) list of high-risk third countries under the EU Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework. The delisting is contained in the European Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) C (2025) 8460, adopted on Dec. 4, 2025, in line with updates issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at its October 2025 Plenary. This is contained in statement by the Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Nigerian…
Naira Gains Value Against US Dollar at CBN FX Window The naira appreciated against the US dollar at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official trading platform on Friday in the absence of FX scarcity. The spot fx rate touched an intraday low of N1416.80 per dollar as healthy liquidity in the official market supported international payments without the Apex Bank intervention. The naira reached an intraday high of N1420.5000 but closed the day strong as exporters’ and importers’ inflows, in addition to non-bank corporate supply, enhanced liquidity. Daily FX data released by the CBN showed the official rate rose…
Ghana’s Outlook Brightens as Inflation, Interest Rates Plunge Ghana’s economic outlook has been projected to climb in 2026 following significant improvement in key macroeconomic indices in 2025. The lower interest rate has boosted credit uptakes, a development helped by successive declines in the consumer price index. This has helped the private sector performance in post-debt market restructuring. The cedi remained strong but has also become a disadvantage for export earnings in competitive markets for some of the local goods transmitted abroad. Cocoa and other export revenue, however, acted as shock absorber for the country’s fiscal performance. According to the country’s…
Trump Turns Venezuelan Oil into Political Weapon – CEO Venezuelan oil supply is becoming “politically elastic”, with volumes now dependent on US electoral and foreign-policy dynamics, adding a new layer of volatility, warns the CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group in a statement obtained by MarketForces Africa. The warning from Nigel Green comes as the first US-authorised sale of Venezuelan crude was to a company whose senior oil trader donated to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and attended a White House meeting with the president last week. Venezuelan oil policy now sits squarely within the US administration. John Addison,…
Naira Sees Market-Wide Rally as FX Users Price in Projections The naira experienced a market-wide rally on Thursday amidst projections that the Nigerian economy will expand more strongly than in past years as reforms produce results. The exchange rate touched an intraday low of N1,418 per dollar, reflecting the absence of significant international payment pressures. The local currency hit an intraday high of N1422 before closing relatively stronger, according to daily FX update released by the Central Bank. At the official window, the Naira on Thursday strengthened marginally by 5 bps, or ₦0.75 against the US dollar, closing at N1,419.28/$…