05 January 2016, Sweetcrude, Houston — Local and international financial market products and services update.
NIGERIA: The Managing Director of the IMF, Ms. Christine Lagarde, monday arrived the country on the start of a four-day official visit.
Lagarde is expected to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and members of the National Assembly as well as other leaders, along with business leaders, prominent women, and representatives of the civil society during her visit.
Speaking ahead of her trip, Lagarde said: “I look forward to productive meetings with President Buhari and his colleagues as they address important economic challenges, most importantly the impact of low oil prices.”
She said: “Nigeria is working hard to improve its business environment, promote opportunities for growth in the private sector, and strengthen social cohesion, all areas where the government has an important role to play.”
FIXED INCOME: Soft start to the year in bonds as activities are gradually picking up. Prices had opened yesterday a touch higher but sell order evident on the July 2034s started the selloff. Also, some de-risking ahead of the release of Q1 bond auction calendar equally contributed. T-Bill market saw some correction on the Jan and Feb bills. The Bond market is expected to take a cue from the auction calendar which is still expected to be released whilst trend in T-bill market expected to continue.
COMMODITIES: Oil held losses below $37 a barrel before U.S. government stockpile and production data and as China moved to support its markets after a broader slump on Monday.
Futures were little changed in New York after falling 0.8% Monday. U.S. crude inventories were probably unchanged last week, keeping supplies more than 130 million barrels above the five-year average, a Bloomberg survey showed before government data Wednesday.
CHINA: China moved to support its sinking stock market as state-controlled funds bought equities and the securities regulator signaled a selling ban on major investors will remain beyond this week’s expiration date, according to people familiar with the matter.
Government funds purchased local stocks on Tuesday after a 7% tumble in the CSI 300 Index on Monday triggered a market-wide trading halt, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the buying wasn’t publicly disclosed. The China Securities Regulatory Commission asked bourses verbally to tell listed companies that the six-month sales ban on major stockholders will remain valid beyond Jan. 8, the people said.
JAPAN: The yen’s first annual gain versus the euro since 2011 is cementing speculation that the currency’s lows are behind it, dealing a blow to Japan’s struggling exporters.
Under the most bullish analyst forecast — Bank of America Corp.’s — the yen would this year undo all of its losses since the Bank of Japan unleashed record monetary easing in 2013. The currency surged Monday as a plunge in global stocks boosted demand for safer assets. The yen’s strength may already be making Japanese exports less competitive, with shipments falling the most in almost three years in November.
Macro Economic Indicators
Inflation rate (Y-o-Y) for November 2015 9.37%
Monetary Policy Rate current 11.00%
FX Reserves (Bn $) as at December 17, 2015 29.069
Money Market Highlights
NIBOR (%)
O/N 0.8750
30 Day 8.3335
90 Day 10.2370
180 Day 11.9738
LIBOR (%)
USD 1 Month 0.4295
USD 2 Months 0.5149
USD 3 Months 0.6127
USD 6 Months 0.8461
Benchmark Yields
Tenor Maturity Yield (%)
91d 07-Apr-16 4.17
182d 30-Jun-16 7.22
364d 15-Dec-16 8.45
2y 31-Aug-17 8.79
3y 30-May-18 9.43
5y 13-Feb-20 10.93
Indicative Currency Exchange Rates
Bid Offer
USDNGN 197.00 199.50
EURUSD 1.0729 1.0931
GBPUSD 1.4623 1.4826
USDJPY 119.45 119.48
USDCHF 0.99675 1.0069
GBPEUR 1.3493 1.3697
USDZAR 15.4434 15.6469