Naira Weakens to N773.98/$1 at I&E, N971/$1 at P2P, N964/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude futures surged by 2.8 per cent or $2.59 on Wednesday to the highest settlement in 2023 at $96.55 per barrel after a steep drop in crude stocks in the United States compounded worries of tighter global supplies. The price of the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) climbed by 3.6 per cent or $3.29 to $93.68 as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 2.2 million barrels for the week to September 22 in the country. In the preceding week, the agency posted an inventory draw of 2.1 million

By Adedapo Adesanya  Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a $300 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to drive increased trade finance and investment across the African continent, fostering economic growth and development. The infrastructure solutions provider on the continent announced the successful signing of the landmark agreement on the sidelines of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Annual meetings in Egypt. The 3-year credit facility is a significant development in AFC’s long-standing relationship with CEXIM. The two institutions have collaborated since 2018, with AFC receiving $400 million in bilateral loans from CEXIM to date. According to

By Adedapo Adesanya The confirmation of the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, and four deputies, generated mixed reactions in the foreign exchange (forex) market on Tuesday. Business Post reports that while it did magic in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, it could not replicate this in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the black market segments. After his confirmation on Tuesday, the new CBN governor said the immediate plan to stabilise the Naira would be for the apex bank to settle some financial obligations and make “transparent rules”. “Number one is what I will term an operational

**As Money Market Rates Drop 2.42% By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday carried out the sale of treasury bills via the Open Market Operations (OMO). This was the control excess liquidity and at the end of the exercise, the apex bank succeeded in mopping up N325.93 billion from the system. A breakdown of the OMO sale showed that the central bank raked N41.47 billion from the 26-day bills at 11.05 percent, while N194.46 billion was realized from the 205-day paper at 12.15 percent. Business Post reports that the exercise was not largely subscribed to as

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited (IEFCL), located at Eleme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has won the admiration of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Muhammad Sabo Nanono. Mr Nanono, who was at the company’s factory last Thursday, said he was impressed with the decision of the management to use its blending plants for the production of NPK fertilizers at a subsidized price to smallholder farmers. He also expressed satisfaction with the massive supply of Urea fertilizers to over 70 per cent of farmers in Nigeria, saying this will increase food production in the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka As the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues with its special interventions, the Naira is expected to remain stable against the Dollar at the foreign exchange market this week. Last week, the apex bank supported the local currency with the injection of $210 million into the forex market via the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS). At the Tuesday’s intervention, the CBN allocated $100 million to the Wholesale segment and $55 million each to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and the invisibles. This helped the Naira remain relatively calm at almost all the market windows. At the

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it is prioritising the country’s health sector with the injection of N711.3 billion in the 2022 Appropriation Bill forwarded to the National Assembly. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, made this disclosure while speaking at a public presentation and breakdown of the 2022 budget in Abuja on Friday. This follows the presentation of the budget estimates of N16.39 trillion for the 2022 fiscal year titled Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability by President Muhammadu Buhari to the parliament on Thursday. According to the Minister, the

By Adedapo Adesanya The week wrapped up at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange with a 0.2 per cent appreciation on Friday, March 19 on the back of positive price movements in the shares of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc and VFD Group Plc. The share price of the VFD Group Plc gained N10.51 or 10 per cent to close the session at N115.58 per share in contrast to N105.07 per share of the previous session. IGI Plc, on its part, recorded a marginal gain of one kobo or 14.3 per cent to settle at 8 kobo per unit

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The board of Prestige Assurance Plc has made an application to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that its shareholders have given their approval for its planned reduction in the company’s share capital. On Friday, August 18, 2017, at the company’s 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos, shareholders of the firm gave their approval to the board’s proposal for the share capital reduction. Consequently, the board has filed an application to the NSE, notifying the stock market regulator that it was ready to go on with the proposal. A statement issued on Wednesday, August 30, 2017

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A suicide bomb attack in the early hours of Wednesday has left at least two persons dead in Borno State. It was gathered that four female suicide bombers carried out the attacks at about 1:15am today. The unfortunate incident took place at Usmanti along Muna Garage axis, Maiduguri in Borno State. Two men were reportedly killed due to the explosion while about 16 injured people were administered with the first aid. Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) North-East zone, Mr Abdulkadir Ibrahim, confirmed the evacuations of the bodies and the injured who have been taken

By Investors Hub European stocks have edged lower on Friday amid Brexit woes as investors await the European Union’s decision on how long to delay the U.K.’s departure. Investors also remain worries about trade wars after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence adopted a hard line in a speech Thursday laying out President Donald Trump’s China policies and reiterating U.S. support for protesters in Hong Kong. While the French CAC 40 Index has bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6