Author: Olu Anisere

Nigeria’s Headline PMI Declines Slightly in December Nigeria’s headline purchasing manager index (PMI) moderated for the second consecutive month in December, settling at 53.5 in December 2025 from 53.6 in the previous month, although still in the growth territory. The Nigerian private sector remained in growth territory at the end of 2025 as improvements in customer demand fed through to higher new orders, output and purchasing activity, details from Stanbic IBTC PMI report released by S&P Global shows. According to the report, Nigeria’s employment also increased, but the rate of job creation remained marginal amidst moderating consumer price index and…

DOGE Spikes by 9% in Fresh Memecoin Rally Revival Dogecoin (DOGEUSD) spiked by 9.22% over the last 24 hours, outperforming both the cryptocurrency market and other memecoins, supported by an improved sentiment. The price surge combines memecoin sector rotation, technical triggers, and retail fear of missing out—but with a weak fundamental catalyst. According to data obtained from CoinMarketCap.com, DOGE is trading at $0.1317 at the time of writing with $22.14 billion in market capitalisation. The rally was driven by spot activity, not derivatives—signalling a healthier, more sustainable move. Resistance now sits near $0.1350; a clean hold above could target $0.1450.…

Crude Oil Prices Edge Higher Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting Crude oil prices closed higher on Friday in the global commodity ahead of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies members meeting on Sunday. The crude oil prices has been stemmed by expectation of supply glut and fluctuating demand with both side peppered by geopolitical risks linked to the Russia-Ukraine and rising tensions involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela Brent crude traded at $60.74 per barrel, up 0.5% from last Friday’s close of $60.43. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.7% to $57.29 per barrel, compared with…

Oil Glut: Analysts See Brent Dropping to $55 per Barrel in 2026 Brent crude is poised to end 2025 sharply lower than where it began, as mounting oversupply risks and a softening demand outlook raise the prospect that prices could test $55 per barrel in the first half of 2026, analysts say. Geopolitical risks stemming from conflicts in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war provided support for oil prices through much of 2025. However, those risks were increasingly offset by concerns that US tariff policies could weigh on global growth, alongside easing tensions in the Middle East and renewed…

China’s Digital Yuan Action Plan to Take Effect Jan 1, 2026 China will roll out a comprehensive action plan for its digital yuan (e‑CNY) on 1 January 2026, aiming to boost its management, operation, and adoption. The plan, announced by People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Deputy Governor Lu Lei, outlines a measurement framework, management system, operational mechanisms, and an ecosystem to make the digital yuan more attractive to banks and individuals. Key points of the plan include interest‑bearing digital‑yuan balances to incentivize wider use, a proposed international digital‑yuan operations hub in Shanghai to expand global usage, continued pilot testing and expansion of the e‑CNY across…

Foreign Currency Inflow into Nigerian Market Sinks by 95% Total foreign currency inflows into the Nigerian currency market went down sharply by about 95%, a situation that explains the Central Bank’s persistent intervention to keep the naira stable. The Apex Bank has been funding foreign portfolio investors’ exit from the market as market participants rebalanced their fixed-interest securities portfolio ahead of the New Year. With FX sales to banks, and other authorised dealers, the foreign exchange market remained relatively stable, supporting the expectation that the naira will close the year strong.  The Naira strengthened across markets ahead of the Christmas…

Nigeria’s Tax Ombudsman Begins Operations Jan. 1—Official The Office of the Tax Ombudsman of Nigeria says it will commence full operations on Jan. 1, 2026 aimed at resolving tax-related issues. Mr Chukwudi Achife, the Chief Press Secretary to the Tax Ombudsman/Chief Executive Officer, disclosed this in statement on Monday in Enugu. Dr John Nwabueze was recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu as the pioneer Tax Ombudsman and Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombudsman. Achife said that upon announcing Nwabueze as Ombudsman CEO, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had stated that…

Naira Appreciates by N11 at Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market The naira appreciated against the US dollar as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued to intervene in the official currency market to stabilise the rate. Supported by sustained FX intervention by the CBN, the naira appreciated against the US dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), gaining ₦11.04 per US dollar at the close of session last week. During the week, the Naira traded in a range of ₦1,431.00 to ₦1,466.00 per US dollar, showing consistent appreciation across all three trading sessions. The spot rate strengthened after the authority…

FG Wipes Out $1.42 bn, N5.57 trn NNPC Debt in Bold Fiscal Reform President Bola Tinubu has approved the cancellation of a massive portion of the debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, wiping out about $1.42 billion and N5.57 trillion after a reconciliation of records between the two entities. The decision was contained in a document prepared by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and presented at the November 2025 meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) . The write‑off follows a comprehensive review of NNPC’s outstanding obligations, which had been reported at $1,480,610,652.58 and N6,332,884,316,237.13…

NNPC to Activate $2.8bn AKK Gas Pipeline for Export in 2026 NNPC Limited would activate its $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline for export early in 2026, its Group CEO Bashir Ojulari said. The update followed a recent tour of the project by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, accompanied by Ojulari, and the Company’s Executive Vice President (Gas, Power, and New Energy), Olalekan Ogunleye. The AKK pipeline, first conceived in 2008, is central to Nigeria’s ambition to leverage its vast gas reserves for economic growth. Its completion could transform the north, where chronic power shortages and…