Author: Marketforces Africa

Tinubu Arrives in Brazil for BRICS Summit President Bola Tinubu on Friday night arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in the 17th BRICS Summit. This marks Nigeria’s long awaited debut as a ‘partner country’ at the influential economic gathering ‎According to a statement by Presidential Spokesperson, My Bayo Onanuga, the presidential jet, which departed Saint Lucia earlier in the day, touched down at the the Galeao Air Force Base tarmac at about 8:45 pm (local time). ‎President Tinubu was received by Brazilian officials, including the Secretary for Africa and the Middle East and the Secretary for Innovation and…

Naira Falls Against US Dollar, Exchange Rates Gap Collapses The Nigerian naira paused its progress in the official market and lost value relative to the US dollar due to a slight rise in foreign exchange requests from businesses and other market participants. In the black market, the value of the local currency increased compared to the US dollar, resulting in a significant decrease in the disparity between official and black market exchange rates on that day. FX inflows from foreign investors that participated in the OMO auction helped boost liquidity in the currency market. The CBN made no interventions during…

Clarion Launches Nigeria’s First Indigenous Shipping Line A Nigerian-owned container shipping line, Clarion MV Ocean Dragon, has berthed at Tin Can Island Port in Lagos to transport cargo across the nation’s seaports. Vice President of Clarion Shipping West Africa Ltd., Mrs Bernadine Eloka, confirmed this in a statement issued to journalists in Lagos on Friday. Eloka said the ship would also serve West African trade routes and support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiative. She explained that the Panama-flagged vessel, acquired by Clarion Shipping West Africa Ltd., was built in 2014 with a capacity of 349 TEUs. The…

Sterling, Euro Decline Against Dollar After US Job Report FOREX Market: Sterling gave up early gains against the US dollar, slipping back toward $1.36, its weakest level since mid-June, as investors rushed to the dollar following a stronger-than-expected US jobs report. Earlier in the session, sterling had been supported after Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended Chancellor Rachel Reeves amid speculation about her future, affirming she would remain chancellor “for a very long time to come.” This helped ease concerns that a potential replacement might adopt a looser fiscal stance with increased borrowing. On the monetary policy front, markets have priced…

Price of Cooking Gas Increase in May, NBS Says The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased from N7,885.60 recorded in April to N8,167.43 in May 2025. This is contained in the Bureau’s “Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for May 2025 released on Thursday in Abuja. The report said that the May price represented a 3.57 per cent increase, compared to what was obtained in April. The NBS said the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased on a year-on-year basis by 10.10 per cent from N7, 418.45 in May 2024 to…

Money Market Rates Steady Ahead of CBN CRR Operations Money market rates were steady on the back of a healthy liquidity level in the financial system. Banks tax payments, and open market operations action had drained the funding profile. The short term benchmark interest rates align along with the monetary policy rate of the Apex bank as market anticipates cash reserve ratio operations on Friday could push drag liquidity in the banking system. The liquidity level in the financial system opened at about N464 billion, from the peak of N1.576 trillion as a result of liquidity mop up effort. Nigerian…

Zenith Bank Retains Position as No.1 Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital Zenith Bank Plc has retained its position as the number one bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks’ Rankings, published by The Banker, Financial Times Group, United Kingdom. This ranking places Zenith Bank Plc as the 581st bank globally, with a Tier-1 capital of $2 billion. The global rankings, published in the July 2025 edition of The Banker, was based on the 2024 year-end Tier-1 capital of banks. This is the primary basis for most international organizations’…

Ethiopia Unlocks Access to $262 Million Loan from IMF Ethiopia can now access a $262 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after successfully meeting the requirements of the third review in the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement. According to the IMF official release, the completed review allows the authorities in Ethiopia to draw the equivalent of about US$262.3 million or SDR 191.7 million. The IMF said Ethiopian authorities have made significant progress in implementing fundamental macroeconomic reforms under the ECF, approved in July 2024. The country’s economic indicators have improved markedly, IMF said, with better-than-expected results for inflation,…

Oil Prices Decline as U.S Crude Inventories Climb Oil prices dropped due to uncertainties in the worldwide commodity market. This was accompanied by an unforeseen rise in US crude and gasoline reserves, sparking worries about reduced demand in the biggest oil consumer globally. Brent crude fell by 0.9%, trading at $68.20 per barrel, down from $68.84 at the previous session’s close. Similarly, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased by about 1%, settling at $66.01 per barrel, compared to $66.71 in the prior session. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), commercial crude oil inventories rose by 3.8…

Nigeria’s Sovereign Eurobond Yield Rises Over Fresh Selloffs Nigeria experienced an increase in its sovereign Eurobond yield as a result of renewed selling pressures in the global market environment. The fluctuations in average yield on Nigeria and other African eurobond yields were influenced by uncertainties affecting global markets. Analysts said foreign portfolio investors reacted to Fitch Ratings and Moody’s decisions to downgrade the economic outlook, citing shifts in global trade risks. The rise in the Eurobond yield signified the impact of external factors on Nigeria’s financial standing. Investors closely monitored the situation as the yield continued to reflect market conditions.…