Author: Marketforces Africa

China’s Foreign Reserves Rise to $3.38 Trillion China’s foreign exchange reserves inched higher by about $3 billion to $3.2853 trillion at the end of May 2025, up 0.11% from the end of April, official data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed Saturday. This marked the highest level since December 2015, driven by fiscal and monetary policies and economic growth prospects of major economies. The US Dollar Index experienced minor fluctuations, and global financial asset prices showed a mixed performance in May. The combined impact of exchange rate conversions and changes in asset prices contributed to the rise…

Equities Investors Gain N1.81trn in 4-Day Monster Rally The Nigerian equities market grew by N181 trillion in four days due to a monster rally that has persisted ahead of the second quarter economic report. Hence, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) all-share index climbed by 2.57% to close at 114,616.75 points ahead of the Sallah holiday. Stockbrokers reported that gains were recorded in all four trading sessions, underpinned by renewed investor interest in financial services, energy, telecoms, and FMCG stocks. The rally was largely driven by portfolio rebalancing activities at the onset of the new trading month, alongside tailwinds from earnings season…

Africa Loses $40bn to Illicit Financial Flows in Extractive Sector – ECA The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) says Africa is losing an estimated 40 billion dollars annually to illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the extractive sector. Mr Antonio Pedro, ECA’s Deputy Executive Secretary, in a statement said the trend undermines development and deepens economic inequality on the continent Pedro spoke at a High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) in New York, marking close of the 2025 African Dialogue Series (ADS), themed “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.” He said the massive financial losses due to…

Ghana Exported $4bn Worth of Gold in 4-Month Ghana purchased and exported $4 billion worth of gold from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector between February and May 2025, according to Sammy Gyamfi, Managing Director, Ghana Gold Board. Speaking at the Mining in Motion 2025 Summit during the week, Gyamfi said gold purchasing and exportation was made through the newly established Ghana Gold Board, aimed at curbing illicit gold trading in Ghana. “Gold exports from ASM players have exceeded exports from the large-scale sector for the first time. Total gold exported from the ASM sector between February and May…

Fitch Downgrades Afreximbank with Negative Outlook, Cites Issues Fitch Ratings has downgraded African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) credit or long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB’ with the outlook accorded as negative. In the rating note, Fitch also downgraded Afreximbank’s Short-Term IDR to ‘F3’ from ‘F2’ and the long-term ratings on the bank’s Global Medium-Term Note Programme and debt issuances to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB’. According to the rating note, the downgrade of Afreximbank’s ratings reflects the downward revision of Fitch’s solvency assessment from ‘a-‘ to ‘bbb+’. This principally reflects the issuer’s ‘high’ credit risks, worsened from ‘moderate’ and ‘weak’…

Foreign Currency Inflows into Nigerian Market Soars by 62% The Nigerian FX market experienced a significant increase in foreign currency inflows in May, supported by a monthly uptick across key segments and sources. According to the data from FMDQ, total inflows into the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) surged by 62.0% to $5.96 billion in May from $3.67 billion. The improvement was primarily due to a substantial increase in inflows from both local and foreign sources. FX data reviewed revealed that dollar inflows from local sources accounted for aggregate inflows in the forex market, while foreign investors contributed 16.8% at…

Fitch Upgrades FCMB to ‘B’ with Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has upgraded First City Monument Bank Limited’s (FCMB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘ and National Long-Term Rating to ‘A(nga)’ from ‘BBB+(nga)’. It also accorded its outlook on the bank rating as stable.  In a rating note, Fitch said the upgrades are driven by the upgrade of the Viability Rating to ‘b’, from ‘b-‘, which reflects an improvement in the Nigerian operating environment and its impact on FCMB’s standalone creditworthiness, including higher profitability due to tighter monetary policy and stronger capital buffers following a recent capital raising.…

NLNG Says $10 Billion Train 7 Project Nears Completion The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has said that its $10 billion NLNG Train 7 Project, which involves very advanced technology, has reached 80 percent completion, and highly skilled technical manpower will be required, ChannelsTV reported. The General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development of the NLNG, Dr. Sophia Horsfall, revealed this when the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and NLNG Limited inaugurated 140 trainees for an intensive three-month Advanced Nigerian Content Human Capital Development (NC-HCD) Programme for the project on Bonny Island in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.…

Oil Prices Decline amidst Multidimensional Uncertainties Prices of crude oil decline on Friday amidst volatility in the global commodity market as a result of an imbalance in demand and supply. The disequilibrium condition in the global market appears to be multidimensional—the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) is ramping up production despite weak demand outlook in China and tariff policy concerns.   The Russia and Ukraine war is affecting both demand and supply of crude oil, while Israel’s activities in the Middle East continue to impact the market.  Oil prices posted a modest decline on Friday, pressured by…

Islamic Finance Industry in Nigeria to Benefit from Sukuk –Fitch Nigeria’s Islamic finance industry is likely to expand in 2H25-2026 on the back of increasing sovereign Sukuk issuances and Islamic banking assets, driven by new paid-in capital requirements and regulatory moves to develop the industry, Fitch Ratings says. In May 2025, the government returned to the sukuk market after two years of no issuance. Fitch said in the commentary note that there was also structural improvement after the central bank introduced new Islamic liquidity management instruments in the form of non-interest financial institutions’ master repurchase agreements, non-interest asset-backed securities, and…