Author: Marketforces Africa

Petrol Price Hovers at N1,214.17 in November 2024- NBS The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased from N648.93 in November 2023 to N1,214.17 in November 2024. It made the declaration in its Petrol Price Watch for November 2024 released in Abuja on Thursday. It stated that the November 2024 price of N1,214.17 represented an 87.10  per cent increase over the price of N648.93  recorded in November 2023. “Comparing the average price value with the previous month of October, the average retail price increased by 2.48 per cent from N1,184.83.”. On…

The Nigerian bond benchmark yield rose near 20% in the secondary market as inflation surged, triggering risk-off sentiments in the market. Inflation

NIGCOMSAT Partners Eutelsat to Enhance Connectivity The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) has partnered with Eutelsat, a global satellite communications leader, to deliver Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services in the country. This was revealed in a statement by Aisha Bantam, Head of Corporate Affairs at NIGCOMSAT in Abuja, on Wednesday. The partnership positions NIGCOMSAT as Nigeria’s leading satellite service provider, utilising the OneWeb LEO network to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity. It will benefit government, businesses, and rural communities, supporting remote communication, mobile connectivity, and offshore operations. Mrs Jane Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT, described the partnership as a step in…

Afreximbank to Support African Airlines with Aircraft Financing The Africa Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) has said that it will support African airlines with 25 aircraft via a leasing subsidiary to promote competitiveness. Mrs Helen Brume, Director Project and Asset-Based Finance of Afreximbank, disclosed this at the close of the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Global in Dublin, Ireland. The conference held from Jan. 12 to Jan. 15 at the Mansion House in Dublin brought together aviation professionals from around the world and focused on current developments and hot topics in the airline industry. Afreximbank, a 30-year-old development financing institution, has a primary…

Dangote Cement Loses N1.55T in 2-Day as Investors Exit Position Dangote Cement Plc lost an additional 10% of its market value on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as sell pressures persisted in the local bourse. In two days, the cement company has lost about N1.55 trillion due to sell pressures. Data from the local bourse showed that the cement stock fell again as investors’ trimmed shareholdings for second consecutive days in the equities market. After two days of sell pressure, investors priced Dangote Cement Plc.’s 17.040 billion shares outstanding at N6.610 trillion. NGX data showed that Dangote Cement share price declined…

Biden Bans Connected Vehicles from China, Russia over Security Risks Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on Chinese and Russian technology in vehicles, citing national security concerns. The new regulations will prevent the sale and import of connected vehicle hardware and software systems, as well as completed connected vehicles, from China and Russia. This is according to a White House statement released on Tuesday. The White House stated that restrictions on software would take effect starting from the 2027 model year, while restrictions on hardware will apply from the 2030 model year. The White House said that these…

U.S. SEC Sues Elon Musk over Twitter Takeover The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday said it was suing tech billionaire Elon Musk. It alleged that Musk failed to disclose in a timely manner, his ownership of more than five per cut of Twitter stakes ahead of taking over the company in 2022. The SEC alleged that Musk began buying up Twitter shares in early 2022, and crossed the five per cut mark on March 14, 2022. By law, he should have disclosed this fact publicly within 10 calendar days but he didn’t announce that he already held…

Ghanaian Banks’ Prospects Improve as Sovereign Restructuring Nears Completion -Fitch Ghanaian banks have brighter prospects as solvency recovers from the sovereign default and operating environment pressures reduce. These factors come as the sovereign external debt restructuring nears completion and the economy begins to stabilise, says Fitch Ratings in a new special report. These themes underpin our improving outlook for the Ghanaian banking sector in 2025. The sector’s strong profits in 2023 and 2024 were a result of high yields on Treasury bills. High profits are driving a recovery in capital after the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) imposed large losses…

Oil Prices Climb over Positive Demand Outlook in U.S Oil prices rose on Wednesday, driven by a stronger demand outlook in the US, the world’s largest oil consumer, while reports of a potential cease-fire between Israel and Hamas continued to put downward pressure on prices. The international benchmark Brent crude increased by 0.2%, trading at $79.70 per barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by 0.26%, reaching $76.91 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $76.70. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a drawdown in US commercial crude oil inventories for the week ending Jan. 10.…

Interbank Rates Ease as Remita, OMO Inflows Boost Liquidity Interbank rates slid as liquidity balance in the finance system improved, though still in deficit following latest inflows from Remita and OMO bills repayment. The deficit eased by 95%, according to TrustBanc Financial Group Limited, opening the day with a negative balance of ₦20.24 billion. Analysts attributed liquidity adjustment experience in the financial market OMO repayments worth ₦253 billion which was credited into the system. The banking system also witnessed substantial Remita inflows, which supported the liquidity boost. Despite these, the short-term benchmark rates remained elevated. Specifically, the Overnight Policy Rate…