Author: Marketforces Africa

Russia Complies as Iraq, Kazakhstan Breach OPEC Quotas In January, Iraq exceeded the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countires (OPEC) and allies members countries (OPEC+) oil production limit, taking into account voluntary reductions and a plan to compensate for overproduction by 119,000 barrels per day. Kazakhstan exceeded it by 135,000 per day, while Russia complied with the restrictions, according to the February OPEC report based on secondary sources published on Wednesday. According to the latest published plans, Iraq was supposed to produce 3.88 million barrels per day last month, but, as indicated in the OPEC materials, its actual production was 3.999…

CBN to Raise N600 billion via OMO Bills Subscription The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sets to open OMO bills worth N600 billion for subscription at the primary market auction ahead of inflation, and monetary policy meeting. The primary market auction scheduled for Thursday is part of effort of the CBN to manage liquidity, and generated foreign currency inflows from offshore investors seeking to boost portfolio amidst elevated yield. The OMO bills would be offer to high yield seeking fixed income market investors across two standard tenor, according to sources.   The authority plan to raise N600 billion from OMO bills…

Naira Falls as Foreign Obligations Crack External Reserves The naira depreciated against the US dollar in the foreign exchange amidst declining external reserves.  The Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) experienced sustained demand pressure for foreign currency amid limited supply, keeping the market largely bid. According to Spot FX pricing on FMDQ platform, the naira exchange rate depreciated by 0.35% to N1,511.63 per greenback as demand eclipsed the amount the supply side. Transactions at the Nigerian autonomous FX market was consummated between N1,500 and N1,518.00, investment banking firms said in their separate notes. The local currency pulled back from gaining streaks…

M&A Possibility Reduces as Nigerian Banks Progress Towards New Capital –Fitch Nigerian banks are making significant progress in raising core capital to meet new paid-in capital requirements and are generally on track to meet the third quarter of 2026 deadline, Fitch Ratings says. This is supporting a recovery in capitalisation from the impact of naira devaluation, providing fuel for business growth. It also reduces the likelihood of significant banking sector consolidation, Fitch said in a commentary note today. In March 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced a significant increase in paid-in capital requirements—share capital plus share premium—for commercial, merchant,…

Dangote Cement Surges as Investors Re-Enter Positions Dangote Cement has started regaining momentum in the equities market ahead of the group earnings release. Investors started increasing their respective positions in the cement company’s stock after sell pressure that plunged its share price to N394. Investors sentiment picked up as Meristem Securities Limited projected 69% upside potential. Analysts raised the target price to N667.16 per share. The cement company’s dividend yield for 2024 is estimated at 7.61%, slightly below the 5-year average. According to data from the Nigerian Exchange, Dangote Cement Plc surged to N431 per share as investors traded more…

Egypt Announces Reconstruction Plan for Gaza In the face of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Egypt has announced its own reconstruction plan for the largely destroyed Gaza Strip. “Egypt expresses its aspiration to cooperate with the U.S. administration to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in the region by reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian. “This is the cause that upholds the rights of the region’s peoples,” said a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo. The statement went on to say that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip must be carried out. “In a manner that ensures…

Naira Pulls Back in Parallel Foreign Exchange Market The naira has plunged back in the foreign exchange market, trading at N1590 per US dollar on Wednesday. According to channel check by MarketForces Africa, the local currency has continued to giving up gain for the second trading session this week as FX shortage in the official window reflects on price quoted for US dollar in the black market. The US dollar value of the Nigerian naira had appreciated to N1550, reducing gap between official and parallel market to N50. The official window was N1500 at the time, but FX illiquidity has…

Oil Prices Decline over Buckets of Uncertainties Oil prices fell in the global commodity market on Wednesday amidst stronger than expected US crude inventories and uncertainties around Federal Reserve monetary policy. According to latest report, US Federal Reserve (Fed) would maintain a cautious approach to interest rate cuts amidst President Donald Trump calls for lower rates. Analysts also hint that the ongoing supply concerns stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to weigh on the market. The international benchmark Brent crude fell by 0.7%, trading at $76.19 per barrel while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased by 0.8%, settling…

Remita Debit Widens Liquidity Deficit in Banking System Remita debits widened liquidity balance in the financial system, heating up banks borrowing activities. The tight liquidity in the money market caused short term benchmark interest rate to climb again, with expectation that this will impact banks cost of funds. The banking system deficit expanded by 12% to open at N572.77 billion, marking the fifth consecutive day of negative balance, TrustBanc Financial Group Limited said in a note, from N509 billion shortfall in the previous day. Hence, the short-term benchmark interest rates expanded in the absence of significant inflows to upturn liquidity…

Yield on Nigerian Treasury Bills Falls ahead of Rebase Data