Riskoff Sentiment Pushed Nigeria’s Eurobond Yield to 19.5%
Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobond yield rose as foreign investors reduced their interest ahead of inflation data. The National Bureau of Statistics is expected to release the inflation figure for December amidst a plan to rebase the consumer price index and gross domestic product to reflect recent developments in the economy.
The market experienced sell pressure across the short, mid, and long ends of the yield curve, leading to a 0.05% increase in the average yield to 9.52%, Cowry Asset Limited said in a report. Analysts explained that the Eurobond market began positively with increased buying interest in African sovereign bonds, particularly from oil-exporting nations like Nigeria and Angola.
However, profit-taking and anticipation of key data releases led to a mid-week downturn, with selling pressure across Sub-Saharan and North African curves. Market sentiment was affected by strong U.S. jobs data (256,000 in December, up from 227,000 in November), which raised concerns about slower rate cuts, AIICO Capital Limited said.
However, as the week progressed, a tussle between bulls and bears led to mixed midweek performance. On Friday, bearish sentiment dominated following stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data, which heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates elevated longer than anticipated, TrustBanc Financial Group Limited told investors in a note.
Despite a brief recovery driven by Nigerian, Angolan, and Egyptian bonds, the market closed the week bearish, market analysts said in the report.
Notably, the Mar-29 maturity recorded the most significant yield increase, rising by 17 bps, while the Nov-25 maturity posted the steepest decline, dropping by 4 bps, traders said in their reports. #Riskoff Sentiment Pushed Nigeria’s Eurobond Yield to 19.5% FCT-IRS Creates Unit for High-Net-Worth Individuals to Boost IGR
