Author: Marketforces Africa

IMF Upgrades Nigeria’s Economic Growth Forecast to 3.4% The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has upgraded its forecasts for Nigeria’s economic growth for both 2025 and 2026. The new forecasts were announced in its World Economic Outlook (WEO), July 2025 edition. It upgraded its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth to 3.4 per cent in 2025. The new forecast represents 0.4 percentage points from the 3.0 per cent forecast of the IMF in April this year. The Fund also raised its forecast for the country’s economic growth for 2026 to 3.2 per cent, representing 0.5 percentage points from 2.7 per cent in…

Oil Prices Fall as Trump Sets 10-Day Deadline for Russia Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday as investors weighed comments from former US President Donald Trump on shortening the timeline for Russia to end its war on Ukraine, alongside an unexpected increase in US crude inventories, signaling weaker demand. International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $71.69 per barrel, down 0.03% from the previous session’s close of $71.71. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.06% to $68.85 per barrel, down from $68.89 in the prior session. Market participants are closely watching developments following Trump’s updated deadline for Russia…

Onshore Crude Oil Production in US Hits Record High -EIA Crude oil production from onshore federal lands in the United States (U.S.) has reached an all-time high in 2024, according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Output surged to 1.7 million barrels per day (b/d) last year, six times as much compared to 2008, EIA said. The share of total US crude oil production coming from onshore federal lands rose to 13% in 2024, up from just 5% in 2015. This sharp increase is largely attributed to expanded drilling activity and operational growth, particularly in New…

Funding Rates Mixed, OMO Bills Debit Squeezes Financial System Funding rates were mixed as the settlement of open market operations (OMO) conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reduced liquidity strength in the financial system. In its investor note, investment banking firm AIICO Capital Limited reported that the system liquidity dipped by N874.3 billion to N1.1 trillion. The financial system dropped primarily due to outflow relating to the settlement of the previous session’s OMO auction conducted by the Apex Bank at the beginning of the week. The pressure eased moderately as N41.3 billion in inflows from local bond coupons…

Euro Falls as EU-US Tariff Deal Fuels Concerns The euro slipped below $1.16, extending the 1.3% decline posted at the beginning of the week—the sharpest one-day drop in over two months—and hitting its weakest level since June 20. The euro’s weak performance was attributed to investor concern that the newly announced trade deal between the US and the European Union disproportionately benefits the US. The totality of the deal is expected to offer little to Eurozone’s economic outlook. The trade agreement has drawn strong criticism from France, while others have emphasized the potential negative impact on European exporters and, by…

Naira Climbs Against Dollar as Foreign Reserves Crossed $39bn The naira appreciated slightly against the US dollar at the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) in the absence of demand pressures and rising confidence in the currency market. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) FX update on Tuesday showed that the official exchange rate appreciated to N1533.18 per greenback, from N1534.20 the previous day. The exchange rate touched an intraday high of N1535.50, and some FX transactions touched intraday low of N1520 but closed at N1532.50, according to data from the CBN. Some investment banking firms maintained that the local currency…

Nigerian Exchange Crossed N87trn as Dangote, GTCO, MTN Rally Up by about N1.74 trillion, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation crossed N87 trillion, hitting a new all-time high as bellwether stocks, including GTCO, MTN Nigeria, and Dangote Cement, rallied. The local bourse closed in positive territory, reflecting sustained buying interest fuelled by second quarter earnings releases from listed companies. NGX key market performance indicators appreciated by 2.03% while year to date return advanced to 33.99%. The latest market rally pattern was driven by renewed buying interest in medium and large-scale stocks, particularly in BERGER, ELLAHLAKES, MTNN, DANGSUGAR, among others. Market…

IMF Estimates 3% Global Economic Growth Rate for 2025 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected global economic growth at 3.0 per cent in 2025 and 3.1 per cent in 2026, as significant policy shifts continue to unfold worldwide. This projection is contained in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update for July 2025, titled “Global Economy: Tenuous Resilience amid Persistent Uncertainty,” released on Tuesday. The forecast for 2025 is 0.2 percentage points higher than that in the reference forecast of the April 2025 WEO and 0.1 percentage points higher for 2026. According to the IMF, this reflects stronger-than-expected…

Authorities Shut Down Cyber Extortion Network Servers International investigators have dismantled the digital infrastructure of a major global cyber extortion network, believed to be behind hundreds of ransomware attacks worldwide. Authorities identified and shut down servers used by the cybercrime group operating as Blacksuit/Royal, police in the German state of Lower Saxony (LKA) said. The takedown disrupted the group’s operations, including malware distribution, internal communications, and its website. Officials reported a total of 184 victims globally, including several in Germany. Damages recorded as of August 2024 exceeded 500 million dollars, according to police estimates. The coordinated operation, a long-term effort,…

Cement: Dangote, BUA, Lafarge Revenue Rises by 31% to N3.2trn Nigeria’s cement oligarchy family boosted their combined revenue, up by about 31% year on year in the first half of 2025 to approximately N3.2 trillion following implementations of price hikes. Further review of the industry revenue performance revealed that rivalry increased sharply, and this caused Dangote Cement’s market share to decline while BUA, Lafarge gained weight. A slew of analysts predicted a fast recovery of cement industry performance after foreign exchange losses negatively impacted performance in 2024. The cement industry delivered an impressive financial results in the first half of…