Economy
Asian Markets Finish Sharply Lower on Renewed High Interest Rates Worries
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday on renewed worries about higher interest rates after the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note neared its highest levels in four years and the Bank of England hinted at somewhat earlier than expected rate hikes.
A downturn in oil prices and concerns about high valuations also spooked investors. The declines in Asia mirrored the overnight sell-off on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 4.2 percent to enter correction territory.
Chinese shares led regional losses as liquidity conditions tightened before the Chinese New Year break starting next week. China’s central bank said it has released temporary liquidity of almost 2 trillion yuan ($316.11 billion) to meet cash demand before the long Lunar New Year holidays.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plummeted 131.12 points or 4 percent to finish at 3,130.93, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 943.85 points or 3.1 percent to 29,507.42.
On the economic front, China’s consumer and producer price inflation slowed in January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Consumer prices climbed 1.5 percent year-on-year in January, the weakest in four months, after rising 1.8 percent in December. Producer prices grew 4.3 percent year-on- year, weaker than December’s 4.9 percent increase but exceeding expectations for 4.2 percent growth.
Japanese shares tumbled as crude prices slumped and the dollar neared a four-month low versus the yen. The Nikkei 225 Index fell 508.24 points or 2.3 percent to 21,382.62, taking its weekly loss to 8 percent. The broader Topix Index closed 1.9 percent lower at 1,731.97, down about 7 percent for the week.
Nissan Motor plummeted 3.1 percent after the automaker slashed its full-year operating profit forecasts. On the flip side, Nikon rallied 3 percent after reporting a significant rise in earnings for the first nine months of the fiscal year.
Australian shares lost ground following weak cues from Wall Street and other regional markets. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 52.70 points or 0.9 percent to 5,838 amid across the board selling.
The broader All Ordinaries Index fell 57.70 points or 1 percent to 5,937.50 as oil and metal prices slid to their lowest levels in several weeks.
Santos, Origin Energy and Beach Energy lost 2-5 percent as oil prices extended losses for the sixth straight session.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto declined around 1 percent, while banks ended with modest losses. Department store chair Myer Holdings plummeted 9.3 percent after warning of more writedowns.
On the positive side, gold miner Evolution Mining jumped 4.5 percent, while Northern Star and Regis Resources rose about 2 percent as the precious metal traded firm on safe-haven buying.
Australian’s jobless rate is forecast to fall to 5.25 percent for the year ending June 2018, instead of 5.5 percent estimated three months ago, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in its Statement on Monetary Policy.
At the same time, estimates for economic growth and inflation were broadly unchanged from the November statement.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate in June 2026 moderated to 15.91 per cent from 15.93 per cent in May, as pressure from the Iran war mildly eased, though it largely remained in focus during the review month.
In the report on Wednesday, the statistical office showed that the headline inflation rate for June on a month-on-month basis was 1.66 per cent, 0.09 per cent lower than the 1.75 per cent recorded in May 2026.
On an annualised basis, the print was down from 25.29 per cent in the same month of the preceding year (June 2025). This was due to the rebasing of the calculation year from 2009 to 2024.
The rise in prices, which stemmed from the continued conflict in the Middle East, continued to stoke food prices and energy costs, which account for a huge chunk of average spending.
The food inflation rate in May 2026 on a month-on-month basis was 3.75 per cent, up by 0.77 percentage points from May 2026 (2.98 per cent), while on a year-on-year basis, it was 17.52 per cent and stood at 25.41 per cent in the same month of the preceding year (June 2025).
At 15.91 per cent print, the inflation marginally beat expectations by Meristem Research, predicted at 15.95 per cent.
There had been expectations that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran would help drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front. However, with conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
This will be a core factor that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be looking at when it meets for the next policy meeting. At its last meeting, the committee left benchmarked interest rates at 26.5 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
