Economy
Investors, Analysts, Anticipate CBN’s MPC Rates Decision Today
By Dipo Olowookere
Today, Tuesday, January 24, 2023, investors, analysts and other stakeholders will look forward to about 2 pm when the embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, will address the media to reveal the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
The meeting started on Monday, and it is the first of the year.
The apex bank gathers its team of economic and financial experts every two months to look into the economy and then agree on the next monetary policy to adopt for economic growth.
The major high point of the meeting is the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which is the benchmark interest rate. It determines the borrowing costs for companies doing business in Nigeria.
At the last MPC meeting in November 2022, the committee raised the MPR by 100 basis points to 16.5 per cent from 15.5 per cent to further tame inflation.
Though the CBN increased the rate at the last MPC meeting, it was at a slower pace, and at this current meeting, the team is expected to increase by less than one per cent.
Last week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said inflation in December 2022 moderated to 21.34 per cent from 21.47 per cent due to a meltdown in food inflation to 23.75 per cent in December 2022 from 24.13 per cent in November 2022.
The MPC may be tempted to loosen the rate, but some analysts are of the view that this may be too soon.
“I don’t see the CBN reducing the MPR tomorrow (today) just because of a drop in the inflation rate last month. It would be too soon to take such an action,” an economist based in Ibadan, Mr Sulaimon Akinpelu, told Business Post.
Also, investors would put an eye on the outcome of the meeting today to guide them on the best investment instrument to put their funds into, especially with inflation still above 20 per cent.
Their appetite for treasury bills may be waning due to the slash in the stop rate at the last exercise conducted by the central bank. The rate cleared at 7.30 per cent on January 13 as against 8.49 per cent in the preceding session.
Also, today’s briefing by Mr Emefiele would be significant as it would be the first time many would see him speak publicly after his return from a vacation abroad.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had made efforts to arrest him so he could answer allegations of terrorism financing. He got lucky through the courts, which stopped the secret police and other agencies from harassing or arresting him.
Shortly after his return from abroad, he visited President Muhammadu Buhari and reportedly informed him of the progress made in making the new Naira notes available to Nigerians despite reports of shortage in circulation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Seven price gainers triggered a 0.73 per cent appreciation in the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Tuesday, January 13.
The advancers were led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N5.06 to its value to close at N75.00 per unit versus the preceding day’s N68.70 per unit, followed by MRS Oil Plc, with a price appreciation of N5.06 to sell at N200.00 per share compared with the previous session’s N194.94 per share, and Air Liquide expanded by N1.00 to settle at N14.00 per unit versus N13.00 per unit.
Further, Food Concepts Plc climbed by 31 Kobo to N3.37 per share from N3.06 per share, IPWA Plc appreciated by 11 Kobo to N1.23 per unit from N1.12 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 6 Kobo to N6.90 per share from N6.84 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc grew by 1 Kobo to end at N1.29 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N1.28 per unit.
The gains recorded by these seven securities raised the market capitalisation by N15.95 billion to N2.2 trillion from the preceding session’s N2.184 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) added 26.65 points to close at 3,678.13 points compared to 3,651.48 points.
Business Post reports that three stocks she weight yesterday, with Afriland Properties Plc down by N1.49 to N14.73 per share from N16.22 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 64 Kobo to N40.13 per unit from N40.77 per unit, and UBN Property Plc lost 1 Kobo to close at N2.05 per share versus N2.06 per share.
Yesterday, the number of deals executed soared by 39.6 per cent to 67 deals from 48 deals, the total value of transaction surged by 84.1 per cent to N86.1 million from N46.8 million, while the volume of trades shrank by 59.6 million to 1.6 million units from 4.03 million units.
CSCS Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 2.0 million units sold for N81.4 million, trailed by MRS Oil Plc with 265,697 units worth N53.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N43.4 million.
By volume, Geo-Fluids Plc topped the chart with 6.4 million units valued at N43.4 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 3.1 million units transacted for N1.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 2.0 million units valued at N81.4 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira further appreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, January 13 by N1.80 or 0.13 per cent to N1,419.66/$1 from Monday’s N1,421.46/$1.
This was boosted by an inject of $50 million into the official forex market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in an effort to defend the local currency.
At the same spot market, the Nigerian currency improved its rate against the Pound Sterling during the session by N1.86 to close at N1,913.98/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,915.84/£1 and gained N5.09 on the Euro to settle at N1,656.59/€1, in contrast to the N1,661.68/€1 it was transacted a day earlier.
At the parallel market and the GTBank FX counter, the Naira maintained stability against the DOllar yesterday at N1,490/$1 and N1,431/$1, respectively.
Market analysts have noted that proper CBN support, stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), improving current account dynamics, and more disciplined FX management will give the Naira stronger footing in the near term, with threats coming from externalities.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was elevated on Tuesday as US inflation eased and political uncertainty around the Federal Reserve increased demand for non-sovereign assets.
Ease in US inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting rates this year. Lower inflation eased pressure on bond yields and improved liquidity conditions, a setup that has historically favored crypto and other risk assets.
Also, reports that the US Justice Department had served grand jury subpoenas on the Federal Reserve earlier this week unsettled markets and weakened the Dollar, boosting the appeal of assets viewed as insulated from central bank risk.
Cardano (ADA) surged by 7.5 per cent to $0.4206, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 6.2 per cent to $3,321.77, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 5.8 per cent to $0.1472, Ripple (XRP) rose by 3.9 per cent to $2.14, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 3.1 per cent to $936.96, Litecoin (LTC) jumped by 3.1 per cent to $78.58, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 2.9 per cent to $94,662.42, and Solana (SOL) soared by 1.6 per cent to $144.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bulls have refused to leave the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as they further lifted the market by 1.59 per cent on Tuesday on the back of continued bargain-hunting.
The bourse recorded a significant rise yesterday as a result of the gains posted by some large-cap equities, including MTN Nigeria and others.
The sterling performance was across the key sectors of Customs Street, except the insurance counter, which went down by 0.06 per cent due to mild profit-taking.
However, the banking segment appreciated by 1.33 per cent, the consumer goods index soared by 0.74 per cent, the energy index grew by 0.39 per cent, the industrial goods space gained 0.10 per cent, and the commodity landscape improved by 0.01 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 2,592.63 points to 165,837.32 points from 163,244.69 points and the market capitalisation increased by N1.661 trillion to N106.182 trillion from N104.521 trillion.
Caverton, PZ Cussons, Deap Capital, eTranzact, and MTN Nigeria all gained 10.00 per cent during the session to settle at N7.70, N58.30, N3.63, N18.15, and N605.00, respectively.
However, Universal Insurance lost 6.25 per cent to close at N1.20, Prestige Assurance declined by 5.81 per cent to N1.62, Regency Alliance slumped by 5.17 per cent to N1.10, Academy Press depreciated by 5.06 per cent to N7.50, and Royal Exchange dropped 3.98 per cent to sell for N1.93.
A total of 55 stocks ended on the advancers’ log and 13 stocks finished on the laggards’ end, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
The activity level was mixed, with the trading value up by 75.00 per cent to N33.6 billion from N19.2 billion.
But the trading volume was slightly down by 8.33 per cent to 1.1 billion shares from the 1.2 billion shares recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals decreased by 17.09 per cent to 49,216 deals from 59,359 deals.
For another trading day, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the activity chart with the sale 343.5 million units shares worth N1.1 billion, Access Holdings traded 86.2 million equities valued at N2.0 billion, eTranzact transacted 61.1 million stocks worth N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 49.9 million shares valued at N88.0 million, and Chams pulled a turnover of 35.4 million equities for N139.2 million.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn