Author: Ogochukwu Ndubuisi

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 15.38% year on year, according to consumer price index data released by the national statistics office on Wednesday.

Tosin Eniolorunda, ALX Host Masterclass for Women Entrepreneurs Tosin Eniolorunda, Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc., has delivered on a commitment to deepen financial literacy among women business owners in Nigeria. In partnership with ALX, Eniolorunda hosted a four-hour virtual Entrepreneurship Masterclass bringing together 100 female business owners for a hands-on session designed to move them from petty trading to building valuable enterprises. The masterclass was structured around three practical modules: The Model, The Money, and The Plan with each session facilitated by a subject matter expert and anchored in live, guided exercises rather than passive instruction. Participants also completed a…

Financial System Liquidity Surges 19% on OMO Bill Inflow The financial system’s liquidity increased by about 19% following a large OMO bill repayment, amid a slowdown in banks’ deposits at the Central Bank window. Broadstreet analysts reported excess liquidity in the banking system advanced on Tuesday, prompting the Apex Bank to float an OMO auction. Market reports from Meristem Securities Limited indicate that system liquidity increased by 18.90% to NGN5.91 trillion, primarily driven by an OMO repayment of N1.34 trillion, alongside an 18.98% increase in the opening balance. This inflow was more than offset by the 8.06% decline in banks’…

OPEC Crude Production Drops 7.9mbpd in March Crude oil production by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell by around 7.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in March 2026 compared with February, due to disruptions caused by US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks across the region. In March, OPEC’s total output stood at about 20.79 million barrels per day (mbpd), according to the group’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report. The steepest production declines were recorded in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. Iraq’s crude output dropped by roughly 2.56 million bpd to about 1.63 million…

The World Bank Group, through its private-sector arm the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Citi have signed a new 1.6 billion South African rand borrowing facility that will expand IFC’s ability to provide local currency (LC) financing in South Africa.

CBN Approves N2.2trn OMO Bills Allotment to Investors The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised N2.2 trillion from OMO bill sales to investors as part of efforts to reduce excess liquidity in the financial system and refinance maturing papers. System liquidity opened the week in a strong surplus position of ₦4.97 trillion, reflecting a ₦181.77 million increase supported by inflows from repayments and placements at the CBN’s standing deposit, lending facilities, investment firm AIICO Capital said in a note. On Tuesday, the CBN conducted an open market operation in which N600 billion worth of OMO bills were offered for subscription,…

Nigerian Exchange Tops N132trn as ETI, Stanbic IBTC Rally The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation surpassed N132 trillion as Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI), Stanbic IBTC led today’s rally. The Nigerian equities market ended Tuesday on a bullish note, with the All-Share Index (ASI) rising by 0.66% to close at 205,831.38 points, bringing the year-to-date return to 32.27%. In line with the benchmark’s performance, market capitalisation also grew by 0.66%, gaining ₦865 billion to settle at ₦132.49 trillion. Investor sentiment remained largely positive, as market breadth closed with 40 gainers against 21 decliners. On the gainers’ chart, ETI, STANBIC, NGXGROUP, CORNERST,…

Iran Puts Cost of War at $270 Billion The Iranian Government has on Tuesday estimated that the cost of the war launched by the United States (U.S.) and Israel since February is $270 billion. The government spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that the figure was a preliminary estimate. According to Mohajerani, the first step in putting a more complete figure on the extent of the reparations will be to evaluate damage to buildings. With this, the economic losses and lost tax revenues would be analysed. She said that the Iranian government would seek compensation…

Naira Surges to N1,356 as NFEM Interbank Turnover Climbs The Nigerian local currency, the naira, surged to N1,356 per dollar as interbank turnover and total currency bought and sold at the official window increased. The official FX data published today by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that intraday transactions were consummated between N1354.5000 and N1362.5000, reflecting increased FX liquidity. Interbank turnover surged to N114.887 million across 141 deals, up from N71.156 million on Friday. Last week, the Naira strengthened across both official and parallel market segments. At the official window, the currency appreciated by 1.76% or N23.90 to…

Equities investors gained about N443 billion in the Nigerian stock market on Monday, reflecting continued positioning in growth and value stocks ahead of the first-quarter earnings release.