Economy

CBN to Hold Rates after 255th MPC Meeting—FSDH

Published

8 years ago

19/03/2017

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A latest report from FSDH Research has predicted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will maintain rates at the current levels when it holds its 255th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Abuja.

At the last MPC meeting in January 2017, the apex bank maintained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14 percent, with the asymmetric corridor at +200 basis points and -700 basis points.

The CBN also retained the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) and Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 22.50 percent and 30 percent respectively.

In the report obtained by Business Post, FSDH Research noted that, “Although both the inflation rate and foreign exchange rate have shown signs of improvement in the last few weeks, a change in monetary policy might be too soon.”

FSDH Research, in the report titled ‘MPC Meeting: Considerations and Policy Options’, noted that, “We believe more time is required before a monetary policy change can be effective under the current situation.”

Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the U.S Federal Reserve (The Fed) increased the Federal Funds Rate (The Fund Rate) at its March 2017 meeting.

The Fed increased the Fed Rate by 0.25 percent to a range of 0.75 percent – 1.00 percent, from a range of 0.50 percent – 0.75 percent.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in February 2017 below the 6.5 percent target while the inflation rate increased to 2.7 percent in February 2017 above the 2.0 percent target.

FSDH Research said the expansionary fiscal policy plans of the Trump administration may lead to further rate hike in 2017, adding that the increase in the Fed Rate may increase the Dollar denominated yields and may lead to capital flight from the emerging markets economies.

It stressed that a drop in rate in Nigeria which may lower the yields on the fixed income securities may be counterproductive.

FSDH Research also commented on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) March 2017 monthly report, which forecast global growth at 3.2 percent in 2017, from 3 percent in 2016.

OPEC said that higher-than-anticipated economic growth may come from the U.S. and the Euro-zone, as well as Japan to some extent.

It said upside potential also exists in the emerging economies of China, India, Brazil and Russia.

At the same time, political and economic uncertainties could hamper the global economy from further and faster improvements, including upcoming elections in major European economies, developments regarding Brexit, and fiscal, monetary and trade policies.

It said the expected growth in the global economy may boost commodity demand, including crude oil, with a positive impact on the value of the Naira.

Economy

Stock Market Grows 0.79% as Investors Buy Guinness Nigeria, Others

Published

2 days ago

25/01/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was a good day for the stock market in Nigeria as it appreciated by 0.79 per cent on Friday to bring the year-to-date return to 0.66 per cent.

This was influenced by renewed interest across most of the sectors of the market, though the insurance index declined by 2.15 per cent when trading activities ended for the session.

Business Post reports that the banking counter appreciated by 1.97 per cent, the consumer goods space grew by 0.70 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.09 per cent, and the energy counter closed flat.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 810.26 points to 103,598.46 points from the preceding day’s 102,788.20 points and the market capitalisation by N497 billion to N63.645 trillion from Thursday’s N63.148 trillion.

Chellaram was the biggest price gainer on Friday after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.07, Guinness Nigeria also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N77.00, SCOA Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N3.96, Transcorp Power jumped by 7.96 per cent to N349.80, and Lasaco Assurance went up by 7.19 per cent to N3.28.

Conversely, Neimeth was the biggest price loser as it shed 9.88 per cent to N3.10, John Holt declined by 9.78 per cent to N8.30, International Energy Insurance depleted by 9.74 per cent to N1.76, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 9.40 per cent to N1.06, and Austin Laz lost 9.00 per cent to close at N1.82.

As for the activity chart, a total of 576.4 million stocks valued at N9.0 billion in 11,546 deals compared with the 394.4 million stocks worth N22.8 billion traded in 12,160 deals in the preceding session, indicating a rise in the trading volume by 46.15 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 60.53 per cent and 5.05 per cent.

Secure Electronic Technology was the busiest equity with 202.2 million units worth N151.8 million, Nigerian Breweries traded 42.1 million units valued at N1.3 billion, Japaul exchanged 34.6 million units for N79.7 million, Access Holdings sold 32.2 million units valued at N807.0 million, and Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 17.0 million units worth N18.3 million.

Economy

Nigeria’s OTC Exchange Jumps 0.42%

Published

2 days ago

25/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.42 per cent gain on Friday, January 24 after three equities ended on the advancers’ chart at the close of business.

Nipco Plc gained N15.01 during the trading day to close at N165.11 per share versus N150.10 per share of the preceding session, Okitipupa Plc added N4.79 to end the session at N52.69 per unit compared with Thursday’s trading value of N47.90 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc expanded by 80 Kobo to trade at N24.00 per share, in contrast to the N23.30 per share it was sold a day earlier.

The gains recorded by these stocks pushed the value of the bourse higher by NN7.41 billion to N1.775 trillion from the N1.767 trillion recorded in the preceding session and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) grew by 6.93 points to wrap the session at 3,133.20 points compared with 3,120.13 points recorded in the previous session.

Yesterday, the price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by 92 Kobo to end the session at N38.58 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N39.50 per share.

The volume of securities traded in the session decreased on Friday by 95.9 per cent to 16.3 million units from 407.4 million units, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 97.4 per cent to N10.2 million from N391.2 million units, and the number of deals declined by 23.3 per cent to 23 deals from 30 deals.

Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.3 million units valued at N170.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.3 million.

Impresit Bakolori Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 26.3 million units sold for N6.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.2 million units valued at N44.3 million.

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,531/$1 at NAFEM, N1,660/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

2 days ago

25/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira extended its recent gaining spree by 1.12 per cent or N17.39 on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 24.

Yesterday, the local currency was traded in the official market at N1,531.20/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s value of N1,548.59/$1.

The recent appreciation aligns with expectations that the Naira will appreciate in the first quarter of the year, backed by continued policy support by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the latest being the launch of the FX Code due next week to enhance transparency in the market.

Also, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on the last trading day of the week by N8.97 to quote at N1,903.24/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,912.21/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N8.72 to finish at N1,605.17/€1 versus the preceding day’s N1,613.89/€1.

In the same vein, the domestic currency appreciated against the American Dollar in the parallel market yesterday to sell for N1,660/$1 compared with the N1,665/$1 it was traded a day earlier.

In the cryptocurrency market, there was profit-taking following earlier euphoria around US President Donald Trump’s ambitious “Stargate Project” announcement, which is a $500 billion commitment to enhancing the US AI infrastructure.

Crypto commentators believe this signals a shift toward reduced oversight with the pledge unveiled on Tuesday, bringing together tech giants OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank with an initial commitment of $100 billion, scaling to $500 billion over four years.

Solana (SOL) dipped by 4.9 per cent to trade at $247.14, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.8 per cent to $3,290.29, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 2.4 per cent to $0.3488, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 2.1 per cent to $0.9763.

Further, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.9 per cent to $3.11, Binance Coin (BNB) shrank by 0.7 per cent to $687.71, and Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.6 per cent to $104,369.28, while Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $121.63, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.