Nigeria’s Market Update [Week Ended September 4th 2025]

Cooking Gas Prices Ease, But Still Higher Than Last Year

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its July 2025 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Price Watch, showing some short-term relief for households.

5kg cylinder: Fell by 0.96% month-on-month, dropping from ₦8,323.95 in June to ₦8,243.79 in July. However, year on year, it remains 38% higher than July 2024’s ₦5,974.55.

12.5kg cylinder: Down 1.91% month-on-month, from ₦21,010.56 in June to ₦20,609.48 in July. Compared to July 2024, that’s still a sharp 44.5% increase.

Regional differences: Adamawa recorded the highest average refill price for a 5kg cylinder at ₦9,011.36, followed closely by Rivers (₦9,005.00) and Taraba (₦8,945.43).

Prices may have dipped slightly in the short term, but Nigerians are still paying much more than a year ago, showing how inflation continues to squeeze household budgets.

Equities Market Update

The Nigerian equity market extended its losing streak this week, with the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) slipping 0.94% week-on-week to close at 138,980.01 points. Despite the decline, total market capitalization edged higher to ₦87.94 trillion.

Trading activity slowed, as volume fell to 3.12 billion shares (from 3.20 billion the previous week). Interestingly, the value of trades rose slightly to ₦90.30 billion, up from ₦85.40 billion, suggesting larger trade was executed even though overall participation was lower.

Sectoral Performance

Losses were broad-based, with most sectors closing in the red:

• Industrial Goods: Led the decline, dropping 2.08% w/w, weighed heavily by WAPCO (-13.08%).
• Banking: Fell 1.52% w/w, driven by selling pressure in UBA (-3.91%) and First HoldCo (-0.62%).
• Consumer Goods: Down 1.18% w/w, following profit-taking in Unilever (-4.11%) and Cadbury (-3.33%).
• Oil & Gas: Retreated 0.77% w/w, with Oando (-7.91%) leading the losses.
• Insurance: Declined 0.36% w/w, weighed by AIICO Insurance (-13.61%) and Sunu Assurances (-0.72%).

The market’s weakness was broad, cutting across nearly all sectors. With declining volumes and bearish sentiment persisting, investors appear to be cautious, locking in profits and waiting for stronger catalysts before making fresh moves.

This week, we expect that investors will be cautious but still active, focusing on fundamentally strong stocks that may have been oversold in recent weeks.

Fixed Income Updates

System liquidity opened the week stronger at ₦1.64 trillion, compared to ₦1.40 trillion the previous Friday. As a result, interbank rates held steady at 26.50%.

Primary Market Activity

The CBN, via the DMO, conducted a ₦480 billion NTB auction midweek. Demand remained robust, particularly for the longer-tenor bills (364-day), with total subscriptions reaching ₦1.01 trillion. In the end, ₦585.24 billion was allotted across 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day papers.

• 91-day: Stop rate eased by 3bps to 15.32%.
• 182-day: Unchanged at 15.50%.
• 364-day: Rose by 25bps to 17.69%.

Secondary Market Activity

Trading was more active across bonds and bills:

Bonds: Mixed sentiment. Shorter-dated papers (2-, 3-, and 5-year) saw mild selloffs, pushing yields up to 17.56% (+9bps), 17.60% (+6bps), and 17.06% (+3bps) respectively. Meanwhile, stronger buying interest in the 7-year (-227bps to 17.41%), 10-year (-224bps to 16.62%), and 20-year (-2bps to 15.60%) bonds drove yields lower.

NTBs: Bullish momentum dominated. Yields fell sharply across the curve: 3M (-116bps to 17.19%), 6M (-35bps to 18.94%), and 1Y (-353bps to 19.94%).

The NTB auction confirmed strong investor appetite, especially for longer tenors. In the secondary market, the rally in treasury bills and select bonds suggests investors are positioning for attractive yields despite tight monetary conditions.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, keeping track of these weekly updates enables you to make more informed financial decisions. By understanding how these trends affect both daily living costs and investment opportunities, you can adjust your strategies accordingly.

In a fast-moving economy like Nigeria’s, informed choices help you position yourself for long-term growth.