Bank of England's Governor, Carney rejects pay rise for 3rd year running

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, among Britain's best-paid public officials, declined a pay rise for a third year running, according to the central bank's annual accounts on Thursday. Bank of England Governor, Carney Canadian Carney, who earns a basic salary of 480,000 pounds ($645,000) a year and has a 250,000 pound annual housing allowance, has been a central figure in the response from British authorities to leaving the European Union. The...

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Nigeria's Niger state to meet bondholders on debt restructuring

Nigeria's Niger state plans to seek bondholders' approval next month to restructure its 21 billion naira ($74 mln) worth of debt, its adviser said on Thursday, as it seeks ways to ease strains caused by a plunge in crucial oil revenues. Nwankwo, DMO chief     Niger, which lies in northwestern Nigeria and is home to around 4 million people, plans to meet bondholders on July 28 to approve an extension to its five-year debt due in 2018...

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Nigeria signs $80 bln of oil, gas infrastructure deals with China

Nigeria has signed oil and gas infrastructure agreements worth $80 billion with Chinese companies, the West African country's state oil company said on Thursday. Nigeria, an OPEC member which was until recently Africa's biggest oil producer, relies on crude sales for around 70 percent of national income, but its oil and gas infrastructure is in need of updating. The country's four refineries have never reached full production because of poor maintenance, causing it to rely on expensive imported fuel for 80 percent of energy needs.These problems...

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Citi trades first naira-settled FX futures with Nigerian cenbank

Nigeria's central bank and Citibank on Wednesday executed the country's first naira-settled futures trade against the dollar, market regulator FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange said.On Monday the central bank introduced an over-the-counter futures market on the currency, to help manage dollar demand, quoting the naira firmer at 279 to the dollar in a month's time and at 210 naira by April next year. Dollars The rate at which Wednesday's futures deal...

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Nigeria to raise 305-395 bln naira in 2021, 2026, 2036 bonds in Q3

Nigeria plans to raise between 305 billion naira and 395 billion naira in local currency-denominated bonds with maturities ranging from five to 20 years in the third quarter of the year, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Wednesday.The debt office said it would auction between 105 and 135 billion naira worth of bonds maturing in 2021, 2026 and 2036 in July, 95 and 125 billion naira worth of same debt in August and 105 and 135 billion naira worth of the paper in September.In its latest debt issuance calendar, the debt office said the 2021...

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Ghana says will not quit IMF austerity program despite polls

Ghana will not quit its current program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and will not compromise on targets set under the three-year deal for elections this year, the finance minister said on Monday."We remain optimistic about this three-year program and will ensure that all program reviews are successfully completed through to 2017, given the enormous benefits to the economy," Seth Terkper told reporters in Accra.Ghana, the world's second largest cocoa exporter which also exports gold and oil, signed a three-year austerity program with...

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Nigeria's Buhari questions benefit of currency float amid weakened naira

 Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday told a gathering of business leaders that he did not see the benefit of the naira's currency peg against the U.S. dollar being removed. Nigeria's central bank abandoned the naira's 16-month old exchange rate peg, of 197 naira to a dollar, a week ago in an effort to alleviate the chronic foreign currency shortages that have choked growth in Africa's biggest economy. President Buhari The naira ended...

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Nigeria oil output rises to 1.9 million bpd due to repairs -NNPC

 Oil production in Nigeria has risen to about 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd), from 1.6 million bpd, due to repairs and more than a week having passed since a major pipeline attack in the Niger Delta, a state oil company spokesman said on Monday.Militants who say they want a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth to go to the impoverished Delta region have carried out a spate of attacks on pipelines in the last few months. Nigeria, an OPEC member that was Africa's top oil producer until the attacks pushed it behind Angola, has seen production...

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Nigerian interbank rate falls after banks rediscount debt notes

Nigeria's interbank overnight rate eased 20 percentage points to 15 percent on Friday from Thursday's close after some banks approached the central bank's discount window for short-term cash accommodation, traders said. Wingwe, Access Bank CEO The cost of borrowing had peaked at 60 percent for overnight lending on the interbank on Wednesday and eased to 35 percent on Thursday after banks resorted to rediscounting their fixed income instruments...

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Nigeria stocks end three-day rally as Brexit stokes risk aversion

Nigerian stocks ended a three-day rally on Friday, falling 1.4 percent as worries over Britain's shock vote to exit the European Union spread across emerging markets.The main stock index, which crossed 31,000 psychological level in its previous session, fell to 30,624 points as investors dumped shares in the relatively liquid banking sector. Dada, Anchoria chief Nigerian stocks had rallied 8.5 percent between Tuesday to Thursday this week, after...

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Central banks move to calm jittery markets after Brexit shock

Some of the world's biggest central banks offered financial backstops to soothe plunging markets on Friday after Britain voted to leave the EU, and some intervened in currency markets as they worried that the volatility could hit growth. The Bank of England offered to provide more than 250 billion pounds ($347 billion) plus "substantial" access to foreign currency to ease any squeeze in markets and Governor Mark Carney said it would consider more...

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EXCLUSIVE-Nigeria's Dangote shifts focus from cement to oil and gas

• Africa's richest man piling in to oil and gas• Billionaire targets 2019 for oil refinery launch• Dangote plans London listing by end of 2017 Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to launch Nigeria's first private crude oil refinery by 2019 while almost doubling his cement production on the continent by adding plants in eight countries as he shrugs off a regional economic downturn.Dangote told Reuters the $12 billion refinery would have...

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Power Sector Loses 4,533MW to Gas Shortage

The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) yesterday said it lost 4,533 megawatts (Mw) to gas constraints.For vandalism of gas pipelines that resulted in the gas shortage and 182Mw line constraint, the electricity market would have supplied 6,387Mw to its customers on June 22.“On June 22 2016, average energy sent out was 1716 MWh/hour (down by 138MWh/h). The reported gas constraint was 4533MW. The reported line constraint was 182MW. The water management constraint was 0MW. The power sector lost the estimated equivalent of N2,263, 000, 000...

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Nigeria's naira holds losses after float

Nigeria's naira held onto its losses against the dollar in thin trade on Tuesday, a day after the central bank removed its currency peg in an effort to alleviate chronic foreign currency shortages choking growth.Fifteen trades worth a total of $50 million had been made by 1220 GMT, most recently at 284 to the dollar - just weaker than where it ended up on Monday after a 30 percent slump.Traders said they were holding off, waiting for either fresh...

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Pan-African lender Ecobank may close some operations

Ecobank is reviewing its expansion strategy following a decline in profits and may pull out of some African countries to focus on its most promising markets, chairman Emmanuel Ikazoboh told Reuters. Ecobank is based in Togo and operates in 36 African countries, making it a rare example of a pan-African bank that has developed outside South Africa, home to giants such as Standard Bank and FirstRand. But falling global commodity prices that have hit economies in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana have caused revenue to slow, profits to fall and...

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Nigerian black market naira rate firms as interbank trading begins

Nigerian black market foreign exchange dealers were quoting the naira in a spread between 325-345 to the U.S. dollar on Monday, firmer than 355 on Friday as new interbank trading started. The naira slumped 23 percent to 255 against the U.S. dollar on the official interbank market which began trading on Monday after the central bank removed its currency peg. Economists said the gap between the official rate and the black market should narrow on expectations that increased foreign exchange liquidity between banks would ease demand for hard...

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Nigeria's central bank says will clear backlog of currency demand through forward trades

Nigeria's central bank will clear a backlog of hard currency through currency forwards and spot trades on the interbank market, a spokesman said on Monday, after floating the naira."The central bank has resolved to clear all the backlog of FX demand in the country through spot and forward settlements," Isaac Okorafor, spokesman for the central bank said.Bankers have put the hard currency backlog at around $4 billion as a slump in oil revenues has dried up supplies on official channe...

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Nigerian naira slumps 23 percent after currency peg ends

Nigeria's naira slumped 23 percent against the U.S. dollar on Monday in tentative interbank trading after central bank removed its currency peg, Thomson Reuters data showed.The naira traded just twice at 255 against the dollar, and less than $1 million had changed hands by 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), as dealers said they were nervous about foreign exchange liquidity under the new system. Emefiele, CBN governor Monday's rate was sharply weaker than...

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Nigeria stocks, black market naira soar after FX reforms

The Nigerian naira firmed on the black market on Friday, while stocks posted their biggest weekly rally in 14 months as domestic funds snapped up shares following central bank currency reforms designed to attract foreign investors, traders said.The central bank has said it will let the market set the exchange rate freely as of Monday, abandoning a 16-month policy of pegging the currency at 197 to the dollar, harming investment and causing the economy...

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Nigeria banks to set naira rate on Monday without c.bank intervention - banker

Nigeria's commercial banks will set the first exchange rate of the naira versus the dollar when the currency is allowed to float freely on Monday after the central bank abandoned its dollar peg, a senior banking source said on Friday.On Wednesday, the central bank said it would float the national currency on Monday, but it has given few details on how the new rules will be implemented. Emefiele, CBN governor In their first detailed guidance, central...

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Nigeria overnight rate falls, cbank mops cash to boost FX reforms

Nigeria's interbank overnight rate fell 250 basis points to 1.5 percent on Friday from a week ago, driven by excess liquidity, prompting the central bank to mop up the naira at higher rates to support its new currency regime.Banking system credit opened at 1.06 trillion naira ($5.3 bln) on Friday, compared with 401.72 billion naira last week, traders said. The excess liquidity prompted the central bank to sell 205.9 billion naira ($1.03 billion) worth of one-year bills on Friday at 13.5 percent, compared with the secondary market rate of 10.81...

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Nigerian central bank sets aside 500 bln for loans to non-oil exporters

Nigeria's central bank is setting aside 500 billion naira ($2.5 billion) for loans to non-oil exporters, after a slump in oil revenues led to the worst crisis in Africa's biggest economy in decades. The OPEC member, whose economy shrank 0.4 percent in the first quarter, has been hit hard by a slump in global oil prices. It relies on sales of crude for around 70 percent of national income and 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Emefelie The...

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IMF welcomes Nigeria's decision to end currency peg

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it welcomed the decision by Nigeria's central bank to abandon its currency peg and adopt a flexible exchange rate policy, saying this was important to reduce fiscal and external imbalancesIMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a weekly news briefing the Fund wanted to see how effectively the naira exchange market functions once the new float system is put into effect next Monday.Nigeria's central bank governor said in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari the bank expects the naira to settle at around 250...

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Nigerian central bank "optimistic" naira will settle at 250 per dollar -document (Reuters EXCLUSIVE)

• President Buhari "approved" 250 naira to dollar rate• Will take 3-4 weeks to clear forex demand backlog - central bank• Nigeria in deep currency and economic crisisNigeria's central bank is "reasonably optimistic" the naira will settle at around 250 to the U.S. dollar after an initial period of weakness following a flotation on Monday, the bank's governor has said in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari. Emefiele and Buhari Nigeria's central...

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Yields on Nigeria's local-currency bonds rise at auction -debt office

Yields on Nigeria's naira-denominated bonds rose across the board at an auction on Wednesday, where about 112 billion naira ($563 million) worth of paper maturing in 2036, 2026 and 2020 was sold, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Thursday.The office said it had sold 50 billion naira of 2036 paper at 14.98 percent at Wednesday's auction, compared with 13.90 percent at the previous auction last month. Nwankwo, DMO chief It also sold 40 billion...

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Nigerian central bank made no new dollar-naira trades on Thursday, official says

Nigeria's central bank made no dollar-naira trades on the interbank market on Thursday but settled $13.6 million of trades made on previous days at about the naira's pegged rate of 197.5 per dollar, an official said. Emefiele, CBN governor The central bank said on Wednesday it would begin open-market foreign currency trading next week, abandoning its 16-month-old peg against the dollar and setting the stage for the Nigerian currency to fall sharply.Dealers...

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Nigerian stocks hit 2-week high after central bank sets new FX rules

Nigerian stocks hit two-week highs on Thursday, rising 2.6 percent after the central bank introduced new currency rules designed to attract foreign investors.The main share index rose to 28,606 points by 1159 GMT, pushed up by a 3.05 percent gain in the banking sector, to a level last seen on May 31. Unity Bank rose 9.26 percent and Wema Bank gained 6.33 percent.Stocks had jumped 3.17 percent after the new currency rules were announced on Wednesday. "The market is reflecting a positive outlook for the banking sector in view of the new policy....

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Senegal's farmers adopt new tool to boost harvests

Walking through his dry millet field, Alioune Djaby, chief of Sikilo village, waits for a sign that rainfall is coming.Normally, he would look for clouds in the sky or birds singing. This time though, he's expecting a text message from the National Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology. farmland Senegalese farmers have long relied on traditional weather indicators, such as trees blooming or where birds set their nests, to manage their crops....

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Nigeria launches market-driven interbank trading system -cenbank governor

Nigeria's central bank will launch a foreign exchange interbank trading window on Monday to boost the supply of hard currency in Africa's biggest economy, its governor said on Wednesday.The window's exchange rate will be purely market-driven, Godwin Emefiele told reporters. The new system would help with economic growth and restore investor confidence.Precise guidelines will be published later on Wednesday, he said, adding that the new window would have eight to ten primary traders handling minimum volumes of $10 million.Nigeria has been suffering...

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Nigerian banking shares rise before new FX rule

Nigerian banking shares rose early on Wednesday before the central bank introduces a new foreign exchange policy, aimed at attracting foreign investors.Domestic investors snapped up shares in banks, expecting the new policy will help generate foreign currency business, which had dried up under current currency policy.The index of Nigeria's banking shares jump 2.50 percent by 1145 GMT, outperforming the broader index, which rose 1.09 percent to 27,327 points. FCMB and FBN Holdings each rose more than 5 percent.The central bank announced last month...

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Ghana consumer inflation rises to 18.9 pct in May

Ghana's annual consumer inflation edged up to 18.9 percent year on year in May from 18.7 percent in April amid a slight increase in fuel prices, the statistics office said on Wednesday.The West African country signed a three-year aid programme with the International Monetary Fund in April last year to remedy fiscal problems including inflation persistently above government targets.Fuel prices at the pump went up 5 percent in early May following a recovery in world market prices."The increases resulted in higher transport fares which in some cases...

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Nigeria's Central bank should tighten liquidity ahead of new fx rule -Razia Khan

Nigerian inflation rises by a surprisingly high 2.8 percent m/m in May, which has driven the y/y print to a multi-year high of 15.6 percent y/y, exceeding our expectation. A more rapid pace of price gains was noted across all the divisions that contribute to the index, although fuel, food and electricity were notable sources of pressure. This happened even against a backdrop of subdued economic activity, given the outright contraction in GDP in Q1 2016, and indications that oil output in Q2 is likely to be even weaker.  The findings are...

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Families and friends wait anxiously for news after Florida nightclub rampage

Islamic State says gunman was one of its "soldiers in America" Families, friends await news on victims Gunman's father: "Everything was normal" Obama to get update from FBI at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) Trump, Clinton expected to speak about issue on Monday ISIS fighters  Family and friends of victims trapped in a gay nightclub by a gunman pledging loyalty to Islamic State waited anxiously on Monday to find out whether their loved ones...

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Nigerian interbank rate drops as liquidity persists

Nigeria's overnight interbank rate rose to an average 4 percent on Friday, up from 3 percent previously, as the central bank's attempt to mop up excess liquidity from the banking system faltered.Traders said the central bank failed to sell treasury bills at its open market operation (OMO) window twice in the week because commercial lenders were asking for higher returns than the bank was willing to offer.The central bank however, sold 206-day bills worth 93.18 billion naira on Monday, and also retired 129.61 billion naira of matured OMO bills,...

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MTN Nigeria to list shares on stock exchange, settles fine with government

South Africa's MTN Group said on Friday it will list the shares of the local unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as soon as "commercially and legally possible" even as the telecoms firm reached agreement with government to pay 330 billion naira ($1.67 bln) as fine over a period of three years for failing to disconnect cell phone users in time. The telecom firm was fined $5.2 billion by Nigeria last October for failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards on its network. MTN, Africa's largest telecoms company,...

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Nigeria's flexible FX model to be ready in "short while" - banker

Details of Nigeria's flexible currency model will be ready in a "short while", the head of United Bank for Africa (UBA) said on Thursday after chief executives of the country's lenders met with central bank officials.The central bank last month announced plans to abandon the naira's 15-month peg to the dollar which has overvalued the Nigerian currency, harmed investments and caused the economy to contract.However, the bank has yet to clarify how...

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Nigeria FX confusion persists, damaging investor, business sentiment

A two-week silence from Nigeria's government and central bank on further details or even a timescale for naira liberalisation has left international investors and domestic firms anxious about whether a gameplan has been even formulated or agreed. A government investment roadshow to London this week was professional and upbeat, according to money managers who attended. But they were alarmed at the lack of any steer on what happens next in Nigeria's...

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Nigeria plans to put up to $1.7 billion into capital projects in coming days

Nigeria's government will next week pump much of the 350 billion naira ($1.76 billion) earmarked for capital projects this quarter into Africa's biggest economy, the budget minister said on Wednesday.The spending is part of efforts by the OPEC member to stimulate an economy that contracted by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. It is going through its deepest crisis in decades, brought on by the fall in crude prices.In May, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said 350 billion naira would be injected into the economy "every quarter until we...

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Delta Avengers reject Nigeria talks, blow up Chevron well

The Niger Delta Avengers militant group on Wednesday rejected an offer of talks with the government to end its attacks on oil facilities and also said it had blown up a Chevron well in the delta.Attacks by militants on oil and gas pipelines in the southern Delta swamps have brought Nigeria's oil output to a 20-year lows and helped to push oil prices to 2016 highs on Tuesday. Nigeria's oil minister had said on Tuesday the government would start talks with the Niger Delta Avengers which has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in the Delta.The...

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