Author: Marketforces Africa

Ripple (XRP) is down 1.06% to $1.39 on Saturday’s trading session as Exchange-Traded Fund (ETFs) inflows paused for the second week, amidst a sharp decline in trading volume.

The naira gained on Friday, closing at N1366 per dollar at the official market on Friday from N1371, following the latest round of FX market interventions.

Oil Prices Rise 8% as Supply Disruption Persists Oil prices rose 8% on the week as escalating conflict in the Middle East and mounting threats to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz heightened supply risks. Crude oil prices maintained an uptrend despite large-scale emergency stock releases and policy moves to stabilise supply, which limit further upside. International benchmark Brent crude traded at $98.18 per barrel, up 8.1% from last Friday’s close of $90.83. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 5.7% to $94 per barrel, compared with $88.89 a week earlier. The rally is primarily driven by intensifying geopolitical…

 TikTok has announced an additional 200,000 dollars investment in ad credits to support Artificial Intelligence (AI) media literacy initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Strategic Oil Reserves Release Will Reduce Prices – Trump U.S. President Donald Trump said he would release strategic oil reserves to stabilise rapidly rising prices, adding that the reserves would be replenished afterwards. “We’ll do that, and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump told news station Local 12 on Wednesday, saying the move would push prices down. The International Energy Agency (IEA) had earlier announced it would release a record amount of oil onto global markets. The 32 member countries, including the United States, will release a total of 400 million barrels of crude, according to an IEA statement. “I…

Equities Investors Lose N108bn as NGX ASI Closes in Red The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation dropped as equity investors’ portfolio value decreased by about N108 billion amid sustained selloffs in mid- and large-cap stocks on Wednesday. The lingering profit-taking activities initiated by sell-side actors on Tuesday dragged key performance indicators southward, and year-to-date return moderated. All-Share Index (ASI) declined 0.09% to 195,898.53 points, reducing the year-to-date return to 25.89%. Market capitalisation similarly contracted by 0.09%, shedding ₦107.57 billion to ₦125.75 trillion. Market sentiment was negative at 0.7x, as 40 losing stocks outnumbered 29 gainers. NGXGROUP, PREMPAINTS, OMATEK, PRESTIGE, and…

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has raised its average oil price forecast for 2026, citing heightened geopolitical tensions and disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation shrank on Tuesday as equity investors lost about N726 billion from their combined portfolio value due to selloffs.

Risk-off Sentiment Shifts Yields on Nigerian Treasury Bills Reflecting risk-off sentiment in the debt market, the average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills rose 15 basis points in the secondary market as investors trimmed their holdings. Traders reported that the average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills across the short, belly and long ends of the naira curve increased to 17.61%, staying ahead of the inflation rate. Investment analysts reported that the increase in average yield was due to selling pressure in the longer-dated instruments, including Feb-27s (+121bps and +85bps), Dec-26 (+92bps), and Jan-27 (+54bps). There were also selloffs in selected maturities…

Dangote Refinery Increases Petrol Price to N1,175 The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has raised the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to ₦1,175 per litre. This marks the third increase in petrol prices within just seven days. The latest revision, communicated to marketers and depot operators on Monday, raises the ex-depot price from ₦995 per litre, announced on Friday, by ₦180, representing an 18.1 per cent surge in just three days. Additionally, the refinery has adjusted the price of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) to ₦1,620 per litre. This latest increase follows prior adjustments that lifted gantry prices from ₦774 to ₦995…