Author: Marketforces Africa

British Pound Strengthens on Revised UK PMI, Softer USD The British pound strengthened against other major currencies on Wednesday with the continuous loss of the US dollar’s safe haven features in the forex markets. According to forex trading data obtained, the sterling rose to 1.3289 against the U.S. dollar, from an early low of 1.3218 amidst expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut next week. The GBPUSD pair gathered momentum after the UK’s final services purchasing manager index (PMI) for November was revised up from preliminary estimates. The PMI came in at 51.3, up from the flash score of…

Booming IT Investment Cushions US Slowdown – Fitch Surging IT investment and wealth effects from buoyant equity markets are cushioning the impact of higher tariffs on the US economy, Fitch Ratings says. “We have raised our world growth forecasts in our December Global Economic Outlook (GEO) but still expect growth to slow to 2.5% this year and to 2.4% in 2026, from 2.9% in 2024”, Fitch said. The global ratings agency forecasts US GDP growth at 1.8% this year and 1.9% in 2026, revisions of +0.2pp and +0.3pp, respectively, from the September GEO. “We have also raised eurozone GDP growth…

‎FEC Approves 4,000 Telecom Towers to Boost Rural Coverage The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the deployment of 4,000 telecom towers nationwide to expand digital access in underserved communities. Briefing State House Correspondents after the meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris, said the approval followed a joint memo. He said, There is also an approval by FEC granted to the Ministry of Digital Communications and the Ministry of Finance to establish service centers for agricultural mechanization and digital economy on the deployment of towers to places that are…

CBN Hikes Interest on Treasury Bills Above Inflation Rate The spot rate on Nigerian Treasury bills has been increased by 146 basis points by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following tight subscription levels at the main auction on Wednesday. The spot rate on Treasury bills with one-year maturity has now surpassed Nigeria’s 16.05% inflation by 145 basis points following a recent decision to keep the policy rate at 27%.  The Apex Bank came to the primary market with N700 billion Treasury bills offer size across standard tenors, including 91-day, 182-day and 364 day maturities. Details from the auction results…

Equities Investors Gain N252bn as NGX Index Rises 27 bps The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) continued its upward trajectory on Wednesday, with the All-Share Index climbing by 0.27% to reach 145,323.87 points. NGX market capitalisation increased to ₦92.38 trillion as equities investors gained N252 billion. The market demonstrated positive momentum, reflected in a breadth ratio of 1.9x, with 30 stocks posting gains compared to 16 that declined, stockbrokers said.  The bullish momentum was fuelled by interest in some oversold stocks across key sectors. Among the top performers were GUINNESS, NCR, NGXGROUP, MULTIVERSE, and SKYAVN, while VERITASKAP, LASACO, PRESTIGE, ROYALEX, and ETI…

NUC Receives €3m for ICT Projects in Varsities The National Universities Commission (NUC) says it has received Three million euros as the first tranche of the $40 million loan secured from the French Development Agency to support Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) projects. The Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, who disclosed this during the inaugural meeting of the 13th NUC Board on Wednesday in Abuja, said the projects are in 10 selected universities across the country. Ribadu noted that since assuming office about a year ago, the Commission had pushed forward several initiatives centred on research, entrepreneurship, digital transformation…

African Banks’ 2026 Outlook Neutral; Operating Conditions Challenging African banks will remain exposed to domestic and global operating environment risks, including volatile commodity prices, says Fitch Ratings in its African Banks Outlook 2026 report. However, reduced interest rates will underpin demand for credit and, combined with lower expected volatility in exchange rates, should support confidence and investments. Asset quality risks will remain prominent, with households and businesses continuing to be hit by still-high inflation and interest rates. Nevertheless, Fitch analysts assume impaired loans ratios will reduce slightly as loans grow, and as interest rates and inflation decline. “Most banks should…

AI Shortages to Define 2026 for Markets – CEO AI hardware shortages are set to define markets in 2026 as pricing power shifts and volatility rises, warns the CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group. The warning comes as the AI boom is rapidly evolving from a growth story into a supply-shock story, and it is shaping up to be one of the defining investment themes of next year. Nigel Green comments: “The pace of AI infrastructure expansion is colliding with physical limits in global supply chains, creating shortages of critical components and forcing markets to confront a new…

FMDQ, FC4S, FSD Others to Deepen Sustainable Finance Market In a significant step towards strengthening Nigeria’s environmental sustainability agenda and deepening its sustainable finance market, FMDQ Group PLC in collaboration with the Financial Centre for Sustainability (FC4S) Lagos, Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa, and Chapel Hill Denham, has officially formed a strategic partnership with Kaltani International Ventures Limited, formalised at a signing ceremony held in Lagos, Nigeria. The ceremony was attended by senior representatives from all participating institution, according to an official statement from the group. Convened under the Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme, the Partnership brings together leading…

Oil Prices Little Changed Amidst U.S.–Venezuela Tensions Oil prices changed little on Tuesday as rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela, Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and OPEC+’s decision to keep output unchanged all fuelled supply concerns. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $63.15 per barrel, down 0.01% from the previous close of $63.16. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also decreased by about 0.01% to $59.30, compared to $59.31 in the prior session. US President Donald Trump announced on Nov. 29 that the airspace over and around Venezuela would be completely closed. Citing an executive…