Nigerian naira seen sustaining gains against US dollar

NIGERIA    The naira could extend its gains against the greenback next week on expected dollar sales by the state-owned energy company NNPC and some major oil firms. Nigerian currency    At 1059 GMT, the local currency was trading at 158.95 to the dollar on the interbank market, little changed from its 158.85 close last Thursday.     The naira has been well supported since last week by higher than expected volumes...

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Sub-Saharan Africa to grow 6 pct next year - IMF

Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth is expected to increase to 6 percent in 2014, from 5 percent this year, supported by investment in infrastructure and production capacity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday. Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria finmin The IMF had predicted in May that the region would grow 5.7 percent this year and 6.1 percent in 2014. It said the slight downward revisions were due mainly to weaker global economic conditions,...

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Nigeria forex reserves fall 1.4 pct to $45.14 bln by oct. 24

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves  declined 1.4 percent month-on-month to $45.14 billion by Oct. 24, but were up 6.7 percent from the same period last year, central bank data showed on Thursday.      The foreign exchange reserves of Africa's top crude exporter and second biggest economy stood at $45.78 billion a month earlier.   The reserves were higher than the $42.31 billion a year a...

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ConocoPhillips expects $8.9 bln from oil asset sales

ConocoPhillips expects about $8.9 billion in proceeds from the sale of assets in Kazakhstan, Algeria and Nigeria and reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit due to higher oil and gas prices. ConocoPhillips' office ConocoPhillips and other U.S. oil companies are selling assets abroad to cut exposure to political risk and conflict, focusing instead on the domestic shale boom and more profitable oilfields at home. The main black spot cited...

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AfDB plans $130 mln in local currency bonds in Nigeria, Zambia

The African Development Bank (AfDB) expects to issue a total of $130 million in local currency bonds in Nigeria and Zambia within the next few months, a senior bank official said on Thursday. The bank's local currency issuances, first started in 1998, are aimed at building domestic capital markets across the continent and improving financial liquidity in some of the world's fastest-growing economies. "The idea is to complete the Nigerian and Zambian...

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Nigerian naira gains on oil firms' dollar sales

Nigeria's naira  firmed against the dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday, supported by energy companies selling dollars and an increase in greenback supply from the central bank. Naira and dollar in exchange The local unit closed at 158.8 to the dollar, firmer than the 159.4 it closed at the previous day. Traders said the local unit of Chevron sold $18.9 million to some lenders, Eni sold $5 million, while Shell sold an undisclosed...

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Jostle for Nigeria's central bank top job hots up

*Top contenders: -Aig-Imoukhuede, -Atedo, -Majekodunmi, -Lemo, -Moghalu Atedo Moghalu The race to replace Lamido Sanusi as the next Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may have started clearly seven months ahead of his voluntarily retirement from the post come June 2014, as interested individual intensified lobby for the plump job. Sanusi Sanusi had indicated few months ago he was not interested in coming back for another five years tenor...

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Nigerian central bank lowers inflation target

Nigeria's central bank now wants inflation in a range between 6-9 percent, its governor Lamido Sanusi told Reuters on Wednesday, lowering the regulator's previous target of simply keeping it under 10 percent. CBN Gov, Sanusi Inflation in Africa's top oil exporter fell to a fresh five-year low of 8 percent in September and Sanusi said he expects it to finish the year below that level. Interest rates in the continent's second largest economy have...

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Nigeria’s NNPC say output hit by pipeline attacks

Nigeria's crude production has been averaging between 2.2mn b/d and 2.3mn b/d since February, below a target of 2.5mn b/d for this year, because of pipeline vandalism and oil theft, state-owned NNPC has said. NNPC CEO, Yakubu Criminal gangs have targeted oil and gas pipelines across Nigeria this year, including the Shell operated Trans Niger Pipeline and the Nembe creek trunk line. Shell has declared force majeure several times this year on Bonny...

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