Author: Marketforces Africa

NBS Introduces New Inflation Indices- S-G The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has introduced special inflation indices to its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report. The Statistician-General (S-G) of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran made this known at a news briefing on the CPI Rebasing Results in Abuja on Tuesday. Adeniran said the new indices include the Farm Produce Index, Energy Index, Services Index, Goods Index, and Imported Food Index. He said this was in line with improvements made to the rebasing of the CPI, which he said would inform policymakers. According to him, these new indices have been introduced based…

Nigerian Exchange Shrinks as Equities Investors Lose N166bn The equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, declined as investors lost more than N166 billion on Tuesday amidst inflation slowdown. The huge amount that was knocked from the equities market capitalisation as a results of sell pressure that faced major movers. Some lightweight stocks with lower valuations actually posted gain, though insufficient to upturned negative market direction. Equities market investors kick started profit taking activities on Friday persisted, causing moderation in year to date return with key performance indicators losing 25 basis points. The bearish run for the third consecutive…

Yield on Nigerian Treasury Bills Falls to 22% The average yield on Nigerian treasury bills fell to by four basis points to settle at 22% in the secondary market following buying momentum registered on Monday. Before inflation data release, investors had slowed down trading activities on expectation of a huge decline in consumer price index. The market opened the week on a relatively quiet note, with minimal activity as market participants adopted a cautious stance to weigh inflation rate direction. Traders said only mild activity observed at the long end of the curve. Buying interest was recorded at the long…

Egypt Unemployment Rate Falls to 6.4% With improvement in private sector activities, Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Joblessness decline by 30 basis points from 6.7% in the previous three-month period. According to data released by the statistics office, the latest reading was the lowest rate on record, as the number of unemployed individuals decreased by 29,000 (-1.3%) to 2.13 million, while employment rose by 935,000 (+3.1%) to an all-time high of 30.99 million. Unemployment among men declined to 3.9% in Q4 from 4.2% in Q3, while the rate for women dropped to 16.6%…

The naira dived low against the dominant foreign currency, US dollar due to tight forex supply.  The naira lost ₦2.88 to close at N1,512.58 in the official market on Monday as US dollar demand overshadow total amount of foreign currency in the supply bucket.

Nigeria’s Headline Inflation Rate Falls to 24.48% Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell to 24.48% in January following the consumer price index (CPI) rebasing exercise carried out by the statistics office in 2025. The rebasing of the CPI included important improvements to methodologies, expansion of the product categories or food varieties and a new, closer base year that allows the headline inflation rate to capture current economic changes. The rebased headline inflation dropped from 34.80 per cent in the pre-rebased period of December 2024 to 24.48 per cent in January 2025 after the rebasing, the Statistician-General of the Federation Adeyemi Adeniran…

Investors Soften on Nigerian Bonds Ahead of Inflation In the secondary market, the Nigerian local bonds market traded softly on the back of cautious mood ahead of inflation data. The statistics office is yet to release inflation report for January, a delay attributed to the consumer price index data rebasing agenda. The market opened on a flattish note. However, buying interests were observed at the mid (-3bps) segment, particularly on the JAN 2035 (-10bps) and FEB 2031 (-7bps) papers. Analysts reported that few trades were executed on the mid-tenor papers, especially the February 2031 and January 2035 maturities. Due to…

Nigeria Eurobonds Rally amidst Inflation Data Delay Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds rallied at the international debt market amidst delay in inflation data for January. Foreign investors continued to take position on the back of an elevated yield, and potential US Fed rate slicing. Traders said they witnessed bullish sentiment across Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds market, covering short-, mid-, and long-term maturities. Analysts explained that trading activity was however low due to the US holiday, leading to reduced liquidity in SSA and North African securities. Lagos investment firm, TrustBanc Financial Group Limited said buying interest persisting across the curve as portfolio investors leveraged…

UBA Group Donates $500,000 to AU Peace Fund Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced the donation of $500,000 to the African Union (AU) Peace Fund. In a statement, the group said the amount donated is to support the AU’s efforts towards promoting security, conflict resolution, sustainable development, and a unified Africa, as envisioned in the AU’s Africa Agenda 2063. The AU Peace Fund plays a crucial role in financing mediation and preventive diplomacy efforts across Africa, strengthening institutional capacity and ensuring rapid responses to emerging conflicts. UBA’s support underscores its dedication to the collective progress…

Money Market Rates Steady as Banking Deficits Ease The short-term benchmark interest rates closed flattish in the money market as liquidity deficit in the banking system eased, according to market analysts’ notes. The deficit in the banking system extended into the new week, easing by 74% to open at N805.37 billion from N3.101 trillion last week. Despite the absence of significant funding pressures, the money market rates steadied around 33% after huge amount was raised by banks from the standing lending facility last week. TrustBanc Financial Group Limited reported that banks with liquidity shortfall accessed funding from the Central Bank…