System Liquidity
The interbank market opened the week with a ₦750.33 billion surplus but slipped into a deficit by week’s end amid persistent liquidity tightness and increased use of the CBN’s SLF window, pushing the OPR and O/N rates up by 560bps and 540bps to 32.10% and 32.40%, respectively.
Treasury Bills
The NTB secondary market began the week bullish on strong liquidity, but sentiment turned mixed mid-week as liquidity tightened, leading to mild sell-offs. Yields fell on the 06 Nov 2025, 12 Mar 2026, and 06 Aug 2026 bills, while the 20 Nov 2025, 26 Mar 2026, and 09 Jul 2026 papers saw increases, leaving the average yield marginally lower by 1bp at 17.96%.
FGN Bonds
The FGN bond market closed the week mixed, with short- and mid-tenor demand offset by selling pressure in longer-dated bonds, particularly the FGN 2037 and 2038. A drop in the 14.55% FGN 2029 yield partly cushioned losses, but a larger-than-expected bond auction size and a new 5-year issuance drove mid-curve yields higher. Sentiment improved late in the week on slower July inflation (21.88%), yet the average benchmark yield still rose 11bps w/w to 16.20%.
Eurobonds
African Eurobonds ended the week mixed, starting strong on a BoE rate cut and hopes for a Fed cut in September, but losing momentum mid-week as steady U.S. CPI and strong PPI data pressured Treasuries and dampened rate-cut expectations. Despite this, major African issues closed higher, with Nigerian Eurobonds’ average mid-yield falling 20bps to 7.84%.
Nigerian Equities
The equities market snapped an 11-week winning streak, with the ASI down 0.77% w/w to 144,628.20 points on profit-taking in medium- and large-cap stocks. Oil & Gas (-1.42% w/w) led sector losses, trailed by Consumer Goods (-0.94%), Industrial Goods (-0.83%), and Banking (-0.23%), while Insurance gained 8.21% w/w. MTNN, CUSTODIAN, AFRIPRUD, and HONYFLOUR were among notable losers, as the market closed with 50 gainers and 49 losers.
Foreign Exchange
The Nigerian FX market was relatively stable but mixed, supported by intermittent CBN interventions and varying dollar liquidity. The CBN sold about $166 million, while the naira traded between ₦1,526.00/$ and ₦1,536.50/$ at the NFEM before closing at ₦1,530.00, up 0.32% w/w (₦4.90). External reserves increased by roughly $565 million to $40.72 billion.
Commodities
Crude oil prices fluctuated during the week as traders awaited Trump–Putin talks that could ease sanctions on Moscow. Brent crude fell 41 cents to $66.18 per barrel, and WTI dropped 71 cents to $63.17. Gold also weakened after hot inflation data tempered rate-cut expectations, with spot prices down 1.82% to $3,337.02 per ounce.
