Author: Marketforces Africa

Nigerian Breweries Names Juliet Anammah Board Chairman The Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced the appointment of Juliet Anammah as the substantive chairman, according to a regulatory filing on the Nigerian Exchange. Her appointment becomes effective January 1, 2025. She succeeds Sijbe “Siep” Hiemstra, who has been acting as the board chairman in an interim capacity since the start of the year. According to a statement signed by the Company Secretary/Legal Director, Uaboi Agbebaku, her appointment was announced after the Board of Directors meeting held on Thursday, December 12, 2024. Prior to her appointment as the Chair of the Board, she…

Naira Gains in Official Window, Electronic Platform, Black Market The naira strengthened against the US dollar across forex markets due to improved foreign currency liquidity at the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange market. Also, the exchange rate improved versus the US dollar on the electronic FX trading platform as well as in the informal currency market. According to spot data from the FMDQ platform, the naira appreciated by 0.84%, closing at N1,532 per US dollar in the official market. Currency trading activities on the Nigerian autonomous forex market were helped by improved U.S. dollar liquidity. Transactions were consummated between the range…

Bitcoin reclaimed the $101,000 price mark in the cryptocurrency market on Thursday. The world’s largest crypto asset had crossed $101,000 on Wednesday but retreated due to retail investors mild selloffs.

20 of 26 Countries to Remain Poor through 2050 – World Bank The next 25 years could prove decisive in determining whether the world’s 26 poorest countries progress to middle-income status, a new World Bank analysis shows. Home to more than 40 percent of people struggling on less than $2.15 a day, these countries are the central focus of global efforts to end extreme poverty. Yet their progress has stalled amid heightened conflict, frequent economic crises, and persistently feeble growth.  Over the past 25 years, progress has mostly bypassed these countries, according to the analysis, which is featured in the…

Nigeria’s Progress on Reforms Key to Rating Prospects –Fitch REFORMS: The Nigerian authorities’ pursuit of orthodox economic policies since the election of President Bola Tinubu in 2023, which anchored the recent USD2.2 billion Eurobond issuance, has improved prospects for the sovereign’s credit profile, says Fitch Ratings. Nevertheless, a number of challenges remain, including ad hoc or insufficiently communicated policy implementation that has constrained investor confidence, the global rating agency added. Changes that the central bank has introduced, including the simplification of the exchange-rate regime and tightening of monetary policy through higher interest rates, have reduced distortions in the economy and…

Oil prices jumped in the global commodities market on Thursday following another sanction slammed on Russia by the European Union (EU).

The spot rate on 364-day tenor Nigerian Treasury bills has been slashed further at the primary market auction conducted by the monetray authority on Wednesday. 

Interbank Rates Diverge as Banks Struggle with Liquidity Money market rates mixed due to deficit balance in the financial system that caused banks to rely on Central Bank for funding support. Liquidity shortfall in the financial system reduced banks funding capacity without resulting to borrowing from the Apex Bank. The short term rates in the financial markets have crossed 32% market apiece, reflecting current market condition. According to data from the FMDQ platform, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) rose by 0.34%, while the Overnight Lending Rate (O/N) fell by 0.10%, closing at 32.41% and 32.72%, respectively. The money market liquidity…

U.S Inflation Rate Climbs to 2.7% in November US consumer inflation climbed for a second consecutive month in November, according to data released on Wednesday. The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.7 percent last month from a year ago, up slightly from 2.6 percent in October, the Labour Department said in a statement. This was in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The rise adds to the challenges the Fed faces returning inflation to its long-term target of two percent, potentially slowing the pace of rate cuts over…

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production increased by 0.5%, 104,000 barrels per day (bpd), in November to average 26.66 million bpd, according to OPEC’s monthly oil market report released on Wednesday.