Author: Marketforces Africa

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar Despite CBN FX Injections The naira depreciated against the US dollar at the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM) due to increased demand from eligible companies for external payment. The exchange rate weakened by an average of N2.38 per dollar week on week to N1,534.72 as total foreign currency demand outpaced available supply. This forced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to react with direct foreign exchange market intervention to stabilise exchange rate at target range to stem the negative tide. The CBN intervened by selling approximately $81 million to support the market, AIICO Capital Limited said…

Fitch Affirms Kenya at ‘B-‘ with Stable Outlook Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kenya’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘ with a stable outlook. This higher level of credit risk indicates that the ratings agency believes there is a material default risk for Kenya when it comes to repaying its foreign currency debts, though a limited margin of safety remains According to the rating note, Kenya’s ‘B-‘ rating reflects strong medium-term growth prospects, a diversified economy, and a strengthening of the monetary policy framework. These strengths are balanced against weak governance indicators relative to peers, high and rising…

Refineries: PETROAN Advises FG Against Lopsided Assets Sale The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has advised the Federal Government against hasty lopsided sale of any national assets. Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, the National President of PETROAN, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja on Sunday. Gillis-Harry made this known, following pressures on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) to sell the country’s refineries. He underscored the need for deep thinking and critical analysis of the refineries with major stakeholders before privatisation or sale. Mr Bayo Ojulari, the Group…

Nigerians in Diaspora Remit $20.92bn Home in 2024 – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu says diaspora home remittances through official channels stood at $20.93 billion, which is four times the value of Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), in 2024. Tinubu said this at the National Diaspora Day (NDD) celebrations and National Merit Award 2025, organised by Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) in Abuja. The theme of the celebration was “Optimising Formidable Diaspora Potentials for National Development and Growth”. The President was represented by Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He lauded the creation of NiDCOM flagship…

Shettima to Represent Nigeria at UN Food Summit in Ethiopia Vice-President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, to represent Nigeria at the second United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit, holding from July 27 to 29. Mr Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice-President, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Nkwocha said Shettima would join other global leaders at the high-level event on advancing the transformation of the coffee value chain, roundtables and meetings aimed at bolstering Nigeria’s food security drive. He also…

NDIC Still Paying Heritage Bank Depositors Outstanding –Official The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it is committed to the reimbursement of outstanding insured amounts to all eligible depositors of the failed Heritage Bank. The Corporation, on its official X, said that payment of the insured sum had been ongoing and the Corporation had continued to pay the depositors their insured sum. NDIC was responding to appeals by customers of the failed bank who were yet to receive their insured deposits. ”We apologise for the delay in your payment and any challenges you may have experienced. ”Kindly note that NDIC…

Stock Market Expands to N85trn, Investors Gain N793bn The Nigerian stock market expanded to N85 trillion levels as the local bourse closed the week on a bullish note on Friday as investors gained N793 billion. Market capitalisation rose by N793 billion, or 0.94 per cent, to close at N85.055 trillion, compared with N84.262 trillion on Thursday. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) also increased by 1,252.93 points, or 0.94 per cent, to settle at 134,452.93. The uptrend was due to increased buying interest in stocks like Champion Breweries, Ikeja Hotel, Unilever Nigeria, Enamelware, The Initiates and 43 other stocks. The market…

Bitcoin Slips Below $116K, Global Market Cap Falls to $3.77T Bitcoin (BTCUSD) slumped to $115,000 early Friday on sustained sell pressures, reflecting investors’ weak sentiment on the largest crypto asset. The market price of digital asset has declined by more than 3% in the last seven days, with the latest round of sell-offs coming from retail investors taking early profit. BTCUSD had hit an all-time high of $123,000 a few days ago, and the same trend was shared by Ethereum (ETHUSD), Ripple (XRPUSD), Solana (SOLUSD), and others. Bitcoin remained in a relatively tight range between $117,000 and $120,000 for the…

Naira Reclaims Value as External Reserves Climb to $38.5bn The naira reclaimed value against the US dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) as external reserves increased further, settling at about $38.5 billion on successive inflows from across sources. While the supply side strengthened, fx traders reported that demand for greenback increased at the official window. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fx data update revealed that the naira appreciated to N1534.78 per dollar on Thursday from N1535.61 following a two day bearish outing. Foreign exchange supply in the interbank NFEM received some boost amid CBN intervention and improved…

Nigeria Records 127,000 Cancer Cases Annually – Minister The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, has revealed that Nigeria records approximately 127,000 cancer cases annually, resulting in about 80,000 deaths. Pate said this on Thursday during the commissioning of a newly constructed Oncology Centre at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Katsina. “Nigeria accounts for 127,000 cancer cases annually, with about 80,000 deaths. That is the burden,” he stated. The minister described non-communicable diseases such as cancer as one of the fastest-growing contributors to the country’s disease burden. He noted that beyond the suffering, the illnesses imposed…