Upcoming election is a lose-lose for Nigerian oil -Kirstin Berndt

Continued low oil prices keep the leaders of many oil-producing states awake at night, but few feel the pressure as keenly as Nigerian authorities. Dienzani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's oil minister and current OPEC president, pled for an emergency meeting to discuss oil production cuts last month. Though such a meeting is unlikely to occur, Alison-Madueke's proposed cuts might just come from Nigeria itself.Nigeria's postponed presidential elections are now just days away, and volatility is all but guaranteed. Falling oil prices, corruption, and multiple...

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Nigerian bond yields to take cue from election

Yields on Nigerian bond have dropped across the board this week, fuelled by increased liquidity.Traders said local pension and some lenders were taking position in the market, driving down yields, but said the market would be driven by this week's presidential election.Frontrunners President Goodluck Jonathan and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari are facing off in a contest many think is too close to call. Jonathan warned against violence ahead of the vote as people stockpiled food, cash and fuel for fear of post-election clashes. [ID:nL6N0WT2FM]"We...

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Nigeria overnight lending rates up as central bank curbs liquidity

Nigeria's overnight lending rates rose to an average of 12.5 percent on Friday, compared with 9 percent last week, after the central bank drained cash from the money market.The central bank debited commercial lenders 58.2 billion naira ($293 million) to enforce its Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) and another 306 billion naira ($1.5 bln) to fund Treasury bill purchases, curbing liquidity.The central bank debits lenders twice in a month to enforce its CRR rule, which requires banks set aside cash with the regulator against its public and private deposits."Rates...

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Nigeria raises 98 bln naira in Treasury bills at lower yields

Nigeria raised 97.8 billion naira ($491 million) in Treasury bills at an auction on Wednesday that fetched lower yields compared with the previous sale last week owing to strong appetite for the debt, the central bank said on Thursday.Investors - mostly domestic banks and pension funds - submitted bids totalling 297.06 billion naira, three-times more than the central bank had advertised but demanded yields ranging between 10 percent to 18 percent.The bank said it sold 14.03 billion naira in 91-day notes at 10.69 percent, compared with 10.79 percent...

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Nigerian interbank rates ease on government budget cash flow

Nigerian interbank lending rates fell to 9 percent on average on Friday compared with 25 percent last week in anticipation of monthly budgetary allocations to government agencies.Nigeria distributes revenue from oil exports among its three tiers of government - federal, states and local government - every month. Dealers said February allocations would filter through the banking system by close of business on Friday."Lending rates dropped because of the expected cash flows from budget and payment of interest on bonds to some investors," one dealer...

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Nigerian interbank rates ease on government budget cash flow

Nigerian interbank lending rates fell to 9 percent on average on Friday compared with 25 percent last week in anticipation of monthly budgetary allocations to government agencies. Nigeria distributes revenue from oil exports among its three tiers of government - federal, states and local government - every month. Dealers said February allocations would filter through the banking system by close of business on Friday. "Lending rates dropped because of the expected cash flows from budget and payment of interest on bonds to some investors,"...

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Nigeria bonds to rise on election jitters

Nigerian bonds yields will rise as Africa's biggest economy prepares to hold presidential elections on March 28, while a planned Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting to set rates on March 24 would also unnerve investors, traders added.The continent's largest oil producer is facing a faltering economy after global oil prices plunged, weakening the naira.Nigeria raised 91 billion naira ($455 million) in bonds this week, with maturities ranging between 5-year and 20-year at higher returns across the board."Trading is expected to be mixed next week...

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Nigeria raises 91 bln naira in bonds at higher yields

Nigeria raised 91 billion naira ($456.14 million) at a bond auction held on Wednesday with yields rising by more than one percentage point across all tenors, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Thursday. A total of 20 billion naira worth of the 5-year bond was sold at 16.49 percent, up 95 basis points from 15.54 percent from the previous sale on Feb 11, the debt office said. The 10-year paper was sold at 16.84 percent compared with 15.75 percent previously, raising a total of 40 billion naira, while 31 billion naira worth of the 20-year...

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Nigerian interbank rates rise on tightening liquidity

Nigerian overnight lending rates rose to 11.25 percent on Friday compared with 8.25 percent last week after local currency liquidity tightened following purchases of Treasury bills and foreign exchange, traders said. Market liquidity dropped to about 260 billion naira ($1.31 billion) credit by Thursday compared with 400 billion naira last Friday, according to dealers. Nigeria sold a total of 254.96 billion naira of debt against bids worth 318.58 billion naira. The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) rose to around 11 percent from 8 percent...

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Yields seen up on Nigerian bonds next week

Investors are seen asking for higher yields on Nigerian bonds at an auction next week,  in tandem with prevailing returns at the secondary market.     Nigeria plans to raise 95 billion naira ($476.31 million) in bonds with tenors ranging between 5-year and 20-year next week.     Yields at the auction could range between 16.5 to 17 percent on the shorter tenor due to low appetite for local debt by investors, dealers said.       "We don't see banks going heavily on bonds at the auction because of liquidity,...

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Flour Mills of Nigeria to cut capex as economy falters

Flour Mills of Nigeria expects to cut capital expenditure by almost half this year, down from 40 billion naira a year ago, as the slowdown in the economy, caused by the oil price collapse and the weakening naira, hurts consumer spending.Chairman John Coumantaros told Reuters Africa Investment Summit that Flour Mills had spent around $750 million over the past 3-5 years to build capacity but would expected to spend around 19 billion naira ($95.53 million) this year, from cash flows and development loans. A year ago, Flour Mills had planned to invest...

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Nigeria's cenbank fixes spread on dollar sales by oil firms

Nigeria's central bank has fixed the rate at which banks can buy dollars from oil companies at not more than 2 naira spread to its clearing rate, dealers said, its latest attempt to prop up the currency hit by the drop in oil prices.The naira crashed through the psychologically important level of 200 to the dollar last month in a rout triggered by weak oil prices and escalating tension over the postponement of a presidential election in Africa's biggest economy. The central bank has pledged to stabilise the naira and has been deploying various...

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Nigeria sells $1.3 bln in Treasury bills at higher yields

Nigeria's Treasury bill yields rose across the board at an auction on Wednesday compared with a previous sale on Feb. 18, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Thursday.The DMO said it sold a total of 254.96 billion naira ($1.3 billion) of the debt against bids worth 318.58 billion naira.The 91-day debt note worth 17.85 billion naira was sold at 10.8 percent compared with 10.75 percent fetched at the previous auction, the debt office said. The 182-day paper worth 15.03 billion naira was sold at 14.85 percent versus 13.70 percent previously,...

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MTN wories over oil price, naira falls, economic growth in Nigeria

MTN, Africa's largest telecoms provider has reported muted full-year earnings growth and warned of possible headwinds as weaker oil prices bring economic doubts to its biggest market in Nigeria.Nigeria, africa's biggest economy contributed nearly 37 percent of MTN's total revenue, while its South African home market made up about 27 percent. "In Nigeria some level of uncertainty remains with regards to the implications of the oil price and currency fluctuations, which may lead to slower economic growth," MTN said in a statement. Authorities in...

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Nigerian naira gains on dollar sales by oil firms

Nigeria's local currency firmed 1.13 percent against the dollar on the interbank market in thin trade on Monday, supported by dollar flows from two energy companies, traders said.The naira closed at 199.7 to the dollar compared with 202 on the interbank market on Friday, dealers said.The central bank had set its intervention rate at 196.8/197.8 to the dollar on Monday, but dealers said the regulator had not yet sold dollars to lenders by 1302 GMT. The Nigerian unit of Royal Dutch Shell sold an undisclosed amount of dollars while Eni  sold...

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Nigerian overnight lending rate falls sharply on increased liquidity

Nigerian overnight lending rates fell to 8.25 percent on Friday, from 25 percent last week after monthly payments of budget allocations to government agencies and proceeds of cash call by joint crude-oil production partners.Traders said about 256 billion naira ($1.26 billion) in January budget allocations was injected into the system on Thursday, while 60 billion naira from the cash call entered the market this week, forcing down borrowing cost among banks.Before the drop, lending rates hovered between 20 percent to 40 percent at the beginning...

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