Author: Marketforces Africa

The Initiates Plc. Retreats After Earnings, Dividend Notice The Initiate Plc (Ticker: TIP) market value declined by 5.83% to N3.737 billion as investors traded 2.515 million unit valued at N10.758 million in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Friday. The company share has traded mixed in the few days amidst earnings, dividend announcement, reflecting the mood in the local bourse. Despite its price slump on Friday, the company’s numbers tell a compelling story of expansion and increased efficiency. Revenue soared to N4,663.47 million, a remarkable 152.15% jump from the previous year. Its gross profit followed suit, climbing…

Oil Prices Hit One Month High Amidst Supply Concerns Trading at 1-month high, oil prices edged lower amid tightening global supply concerns following US tariffs on Venezuelan oil buyers and restrictions on Iranian crude trade. The international benchmark, Brent crude, decreased by around 0.5% trading at $72.93 per barrel, down from $73.31 at the previous session’s close. The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by about 0.5%, settling at $69.41 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $69.76. Oil prices fell on concerns that US President Donald Trump’s economic and trade policies could accelerate inflation in the…

Nigerian Treasury Bills Yield Jumps after CBN Cuts Spot Rate The average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills jumped by 20 basis points in the secondary market as investors switched to trim their portfolio holdings following reduction in the spot rate pricing on one year bills offered by the Central Bank at the main auction. Amidst the bearish play, some investors sought to fill bid that were rejected by the Central Bank at the midweek auction in the secondary market on Thursday, heating up trading activities. Demand were seen at mid and far-dated papers after the CBN keep spot rates on…

Rates Fall Below 28% over Surplus Liqudity in Banking System The money market rates plunged below 28% apiece due to excess liquidity in the financial system, bolstered by inflows from matured Nigerian Treasury bills and Federal Government (FGN) bonds coupon payments. Interbank rates have been fluctuating above 32% due to tight liquidity condition in the financial markets. This was triggered mostly by activities of local banks at the primary market auctions conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Debt Management Office. Most banks have increased their bets on Nigerian government borrowing instrument to boost their earnings performance, ramping…

The FX spread or exchange rates gap between official and parallel market narrowed to N21.34 as the naira depreciated further at the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange market.

Ecobank Grows Profit by 16% to $333m in 2024 Pan African financial group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI) grew profit by 16% year on year to $333 million, according to the group audited financial results submitted on the Nigerian Exchange. Details showed that the group’s profit after tax attributable to shareholders of ETI for 2024 increased by 16% to $333 million. The surge was primarily fuelled by strong fee and commission income performance, efficiency improvements, reduced impairment charges on other financial assets, and a lower effective tax rate. The group net revenues, which is the sum of the net interest income…

Nigeria to Curb Money Laundering with E-currency Declaration Form The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will deploy an Electronic-Currency (E-Currency) declaration form as part of its anti-money laundering measures for travellers carrying cash into and out of Nigeria. The service spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada announced this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. Maiwada said that the form was designed to help travellers declare any currency exceeding the legal threshold before arrival or departure. NAN reports that the Anti-Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the NCS Act 2023 mandate that travellers…

Nigeria’s Economy Achieving Stability – Edun The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, says Nigeria’s economy has achieved relative stability over the past 18 to 20 months. Edun said this during a Zoom dialogue meeting in Abuja on Thursday. According to him, the economy narrowly avoided collapse, having survived on illegally borrowed central bank funds far beyond regulatory limits. “Where we are now is that, in the last quarter of 2024, the economy grew at roughly 3.84 per cent, which is close to the annual target of 3.4 per cent. ” Looking at the…

US Dollar Dips against Euro, Sterling after Auto Tariffs The US dollar trading on mixed note against its major trading partners early Thursday in the forex markets, gaining against the the Japanese yen and Canadian dollar, down versus the euro and British pound. The FX market has seen surprisingly little reaction to yesterday’s announcement of a 25% tariff on US auto imports, according to ING note. Analysts noted that countries in the frame: Mexico, Canada, Germany, Japan and South Korea have not seen a meaningful decline in their currencies overnight. “Perhaps the FX market is dealing with tariff fatigue, and…

Fitch Cuts Growth Forecast as U.S Starts Global Trade War The new US administration has started a global trade war that will reduce US and world growth, push up US inflation and delay Federal Reserve rate cuts, Fitch Ratings believes. “We have cut both our US 2025 growth forecast to 1.7% from 2.1% in the December 2024 Global Economic Outlook (GEO) and our 2026 forecast to 1.5% from 1.7%”, the global ratings agency said in a report. According to Fitch, these rates are well below trend and down from almost 3% annual growth in 2023 and 2024. It noted that…