Nigerian naira street rate well below central bank's at Christmas

The Central Bank of Nigeria says the post-devaluation band for the naira is "appropriately priced", but black market hawkers out on the street are trading it at around 3-5 percent below its floor in the run-up to Christmas.

Despite an 8 percent devaluation of the target band and efforts last week to crack down on currency speculation by squeezing liquidity, the naira remains at record lows.

But while the central bank and the interbank markets argue over the naira's fair value, it's harder to argue with the price on the streets where many dollars are bought and sold.

Nigeria devalued its currency and widened its target trading band to 160-176 against the dollar, but few analysts believe that can hold, given a steady decline in reserves.

Several street changers, mostly Muslim northerners from the Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups, told Reuters they were trading a dollar for 180-182 naira the day before Christmas.

Ghana producer price inflation falls to 37.5 pct yr/yr in Nov-Stats office

 

Ghana's year-on-year producer price inflation fell to 37.5 percent in November from a revised 40.1 percent in October, brought down by lower gold prices.

The national statistics office said on Wednesday, that the figures give an indication of the fiscal challenges facing the West African country, whose GDP growth is starting to slow after years of rapid expansion thanks to exports of gold, cocoa and oil.

Inflation in the mining and quarrying subsector, of which gold is a vital component, fell 8.1 percentage points from the October rate of 48.7 percent, government statistician Philomena Nyarko told a press conference in Accra.

Inflation in manufacturing, which constitutes more than two-thirds of the total industry index, also fell by 2.1 percentage points to 39 percent. The utilities subsector recorded an inflation rate of 27.6 percent, down 0.2 percent over the previous month.

SEC, NBA to Partner on Capital Market Development

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria is to collaborate with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to set up a standing committee as a means to working together for the development of Nigeria’s capital market.

Announcing this when the President of the NBA, Augustine Alegeh (SAN) and some members of his executive paid a courtesy call on her in Abuja, Director General of the SEC, Arunma Oteh said the partnership is essential for the two organizations and the country in general to drive the present administration’s transformation agenda.

Oteh said Nigeria’s capital market has had big issues that have affected the integrity of the market, saying that the timing is perfect for the SEC and the NBA to look at ways of collaborating in the interest of investors and the country’s economic development.

The DG however commended the NBA for being partners in the development of the capital market in Nigeria adding that the Commission is committed to raising financially literate citizens in the country.

Speaking earlier, the NBA President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN) expressed the interest of the NBA in working with the SEC in several areas in a bid to improve the country’s economic development.

Already, he said the Association has set up a committee on legislative advocacy which offers services free of charge, to ensure that proper laws are in place no matter whose ox is gored.

Arab OPEC sources see oil back above $70 by end-2015

Arab OPEC producers expect global oil prices to rebound to between $70 and $80 a barrel by the end of next year as a global economic recovery revives demand, OPEC delegates said this week in the first indication of where the group expects oil markets to ‎stabilise in the medium term.

The delegates, some of which are from core Gulf OPEC producing countries, said they may not see - and some may not even welcome now - a return to $100 any time soon.

But they believe that once the breakneck growth of high cost producers such as U.S. shale patch slows and lower prices begin to stimulate demand, oil prices could begin finding a new equilibrium by the end of 2015 – even in the absence of any production cuts by OPEC, something that has been repeatedly ruled out.

A separate Gulf OPEC source said: "We have to wait and see. We don't see 100 dollars for next year, unless there is a sudden supply disruption. But average of 70-80 dollars for next year – yes.”

The comments are among the first to indicate how big producers see oil markets playing out next year, after the current slump that has almost halved prices since June. Global benchmark Brent closed at around $60 a barrel on Monday.

Their internal view on the market outlook will provide welcome insight to oil company executives, analysts and traders, who were caught out by what was seen by some as a shift in Saudi policy two months ago and have struggled since then to understand how and when the market will find its feet.

Nigerian crude oil exports to fall to 1.87 mln bpd in Feb -lists

 

Nigerian crude oil exports in February are set to fall to around 1.87 million barrels per day (bpd) from around 2.03 million bpd in January shipping lists showed on Tuesday.

The export levels are lower for February due to lower exports of the benchmark Qua Iboe grade, which traders said is to go under maintenance.

Angola central bank leaves interest rate at 9 pct

Angola's central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 9 percent for the second straight month on Tuesday.

Ivory Coast cocoa helped by rain, mild Harmattan wind

Unusually heavy rain and a mild Harmattan dry wind last week in Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions brightened the outlook for the last stage of the main crop, but the dry season elsewhere could tighten supply, farmers and analysts said on Monday.


Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is in the dry season that runs from mid-November to March, when the dusty Harmattan wind that usually blows from the Sahara from December to March hits cocoa farming.

The 2014/15 main crop harvest opened on Oct. 1 and farmers expect an abundant harvest of quality beans until the end of January.

In the western region of Soubre, in the heart of the cocoa belt, an analyst reported 43 millimetres of rain compared with none the previous week and a mild Harmattan.