NTBs & money market
Opening market liquidity on Wednesday was N291bn (positive). Interbank rates eased further to close within a range of 1% to 7% due to an inflow of N300bn from a bond maturity. There was a primary market auction of NTBs. The CBN offered and raised N49.6bn from the sale of the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day paper at stop rates of 10.00%, 10.30% and 11.00% respectively. On the NTB secondary market, there was an uptick in yields for selected maturities.
FGN bonds & Eurobonds
The FGN bond market was fairly active. Yields narrowed particularly at the middle of the curve. As for the Eurobond market, yields picked up for most maturities.
FX and crude oil (spot), unless otherwise stated
The CBN’s daily fx intervention was again US$0.5m, at N305.45. Turnover at the NAFEX soared from US$177m on Monday to US$571m. Indicative rates ranged from N351 to N363. The US Commerce Department has released its second estimate for Q1 2018 economic growth. The Q1 2018 GDP figure was revised downwards to 2.2% y/y, lower than initial estimate of 2.3%, this was driven by a slowdown in consumer spending & inventory growth.
Analysts from FBNQuest Capital Limited.