Business
US, Europe Stocks Drop As Dollar Rises
Published
1 year agoon
By
Editor
Stocks in the United States and Europe slumped on Tuesday while the dollar climbed as data showed that US inflation slowed less than expected in January, diminishing chances of an early interest rate cut.
The closely watched Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1 per cent from a year ago in January, down from 3.4 per cent in December, the Department of Labor said, while analysts had tipped the rate could fall below 3.0 per cent.
Meanwhile, the “core” CPI reading that excludes volatile food and energy prices and is more important to policymakers, was steady at a 3.9 per cent annual increase.
The US Federal Reserve has indicated it will likely begin to cut interest rates – which it began to hike in 2022 to tame surging inflation – later this year as the pace of price rises returns closer to its 2.0 percent target. That has heightened the attention of investors to US inflation data.
READ ALSO: Naira Reaches All-time Low At Official Market
“The January inflation report came in hot across the board and that has the potential to spook investors after a big rally over the last few months,” said eToro analyst Bret Kenwell.
Stocks have been propelled to new heights in recent months as investors anticipate a drop in interest rates which will boost the fortunes of companies, as well as the blockbuster performance of the US tech industry thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence.
Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com said that “the hotter-than-expected CPI may give investors an excuse to take profits in a market that many feel is overbought on a short-term basis.”
Wall Street’s main indices fell by more than one per cent, with the Dow shedding 1.1 per cent from a record high.
Europe stocks closed down almost one per cent.
READ ALSO: Naira Reaches All-time Low At Official Market
Traders had been hoping that Tuesday’s CPI reading in the world’s biggest economy would give the Federal Reserve room to lower interest rates.
Last month, Fed chief Jerome Powell indicated a continuation in the trend of falling inflation was sufficient for the US central bank to begin cutting interest rates later this year, but downplayed the likelihood of a March cut that the market had been hoping for.
“Hopes for a Fed March rate cut have all but disappeared with the market now pricing in a 53 percent probability of a first cut being seen in June,” said market analyst Axel Rudolph at online trading platform IG.
In Asia, most of the region returned to work after a long weekend. Tokyo led advances thanks to a surge in shares of Japanese investment group SoftBank, which was boosted by another blockbuster day for its US-listed chip designer Arm.
READ ALSO: US-based Professor Premieres Documentary On Ayinde Barrister
Arm has almost doubled in value in the past week — and trebled since its September listing — owing to healthy demand for semiconductors fuelled by an expected boom in artificial intelligence.
Bitcoin topped $50,000 Monday for the first time since late 2021 as investors grew optimistic that US approval of broader trading in the unit will ramp up demand.
The cryptocurrency has enjoyed a strong run in recent months, fuelled by expectations US lawmakers would allow the creation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the price and let the public invest in crypto without directly purchasing it.
After initially dropping in reaction to last month’s green light by Washington, bitcoin has rallied about 25 per cent since January 22.
AFP
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit across its retail outlets.
It was gathered that NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja have adjusted their fuel pump price to N955 per litre from N890.
This is the case in NNPCL retail outlets along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse and other parts of Abuja.
READ ALSO:Fuel Station Manager, Three Others Arrested For Robbery
Similarly, the pump price hike has been implemented at filling stations in Kogi and Nasarawa.
This means that the petrol pump price was increased by N65.
This comes after independent petroleum product marketers and filling station owners in Abuja increased petrol pump prices to between N950 and N971 per litre at the weekend. Their decision followed an upward review of the ex-depot petrol price by Dangote Refinery to N858 per litre, up from N820.
Business
Naira Appreciates Against Dollar As External Reserves Swell
Published
12 hours agoon
August 5, 2025By
Editor
The naira appreciated against the dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Monday to begin the week on a bullish note amid swelling external reserves.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange data, the naira appreciated to N1,531.95 against the dollar on Monday from N1,533.74 traded last week Friday.
READ ALSO:Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market
This showed that the Naira strengthened by N1.79 when compared to the N1,533.74 exchanged at the close of work last week.
Meanwhile, at the black market, the naira remained stable at N1560 per litre, the same exchange rate traded on Friday.
The development comes as Nigeria’s external reserves had maintained a modest rise to $39.54 billion as of August 1st, 2025, up from $39.36 billion on July 30th.
Business
Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market
Published
4 days agoon
August 1, 2025By
Editor
The naira continued its appreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.
Accordingly, the naira strengthened further to N1,533.18 against the dollar on Tuesday, from N1,534.21 traded the previous day.
This represents a gain of N1.03 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis and marks the second consecutive day of appreciation at the official FX market.
READ ALSO:Woman Arrested For Killing, Selling Pregnant Nurse’s Body Parts
Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated further to N1,545 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,537 traded on Monday.
Recall that the naira had similarly closed Monday’s trading session with mixed sentiments, recording gains at the official market but depreciating at the parallel market.
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