Author: Marketforces Africa

Oil Prices Fall as Iran Examines Export Pipelines Readiness Crude oil prices reduced across grades in the global commodities market amidst uncertainties, taking off from last moment bearish mood last week. During early trading hours on Monday, oil prices fell amidst expectations that Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) would resume oil exports after nearly two years and that progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks could boost global supply. Brent crude fell by 0.05%, trading at $73.86 per barrel, while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased by 0.1%, settling at $72.12 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of…

Eterna Plc. Shrinks by 10% as Investors Sentiments Dive Eterna Plc market value declined by about 10% in the equities market due to sell pressure that lasted for three out of five trading sessions on the Nigerian Exchange. Huge shares were traded in the market, with moderate price fluctuations. Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed the share price of Eterna Plc settled at N40.6 on Friday, from the opening price of N45 in the same week. Hence, its market value dropped to N52.948 billion. Its earnings release revealed that Eterna returned to profitability in 2024 after negative earnings performance in…

Moody’s Downgrades Senegal Ratings after Court of Auditors Findings Moody’s Ratings has downgraded the Government of Senegal long-term issuer and foreign-currency senior unsecured ratings to B3 from B1 and changed the outlook to negative. The short-term issuer ratings have been affirmed at Not Prime (NP), saying this concludes the review for downgrade that was initiated at the time of the 4 October 2024 rating action. In its report, Moody’s said the downgrade is driven by the substantially weaker fiscal metrics revealed by Senegal’s Court of Auditors. The scale and nature of the discrepancies significantly limit Senegal’s fiscal space and contribute…

Champion Breweries Edges Higher by 10% on Fresh Rally With huge ownership concentration, Champion Breweries Plc’s market value increased by about 10% in the stock market as a results of renewed investors demand. Demand came strong as the company prepared to release its audited financial statement for 2024. According to data from the Nigeria Exchange, the brewer’s stock surged to N4.12 at the end of the trading session on Friday from N3.75 opening price in the week. The rally that lasted for a day lifted the market value of Champion Breweries Plc’s 8.947 billion shares outstanding to N36.865 billion. The…

Bonds Rally as Investors Capitalise on Real Return Ahead of Auction The Nigerian bonds market traded on a bullish note ahead of the Debt Management Office’s (DMO) monthly auction scheduled for Monday. Investors increased their positions on local borrowing instruments, capitalising on real returns on naira assets following a sharp inflation drop and steady benchmark interest rate. Hence, trading activities were largely positive, supported by demand for the FEB-31 (-136bps), JUL-30 (-110bps), JAN-35 (-92bps), and MAR-35 (-75bps) papers. Investors parked funds into 2035 FGN bonds following the release of the February bond auction circular, which confirmed that the 10-year bonds…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rejected a huge amount of bids from investors who sought to bet on Treasury bills at the main

With the deposit money banks borrowing spree, the short-term benchmark interest rates ended on a mixed note

We Have Over N600bn Worth of Petrol in Store ― Dangote President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has revealed that his company—the Dangote Petroleum Refinery—has enough Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol in storage to sufficiently meet the local needs of Nigeria. Speaking at the weekend, Dangote disclosed that the oil refinery has “more than half a billion litres of petroleum and over 600 billion Naira worth of products in its tanks. Dangote said, “…as we speak right now we have more than half a billion litres. The Refinery is producing enough refined products, like gasoline,…

Oil Prices Retreat over Buckets of Uncertainties In the global commodities market, oil prices surged throughout the week, driven by the EU’s expanded sanctions on Russia and reports of a Ukrainian strike on a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) oil pumping station. But just as momentum seemed set to hold, the market took a sharp turn on Friday, wiping out all gains and dragging prices below $75. Brent crude, which closed the previous week at $74.40, rose on Monday following reports that Ukraine had attacked a CPC station carrying Kazakhstani oil in a ‘reaction to the US.’ The attack pushed Brent…

Naira Rallies as CBN Defends Local Currency with $66m Exchange rates improved across foreign exchange markets as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent $66 million to defend naira. According to data from the forex markets, the naira appreciated by 0.6% to N1,501.08 per US dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) in the just concluded week, reflecting support from the monetary authority. The naira rally was driven by increased foreign exchange supply from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), international oil companies (IOCs), and the CBN market interventions. iIn its investors note, AIICO Capital Limited emphasised that trading activity was…