RFA Breakfast Paper - September 11, 2026
US Yields Spike, Pressuring African Debt
African sovereign Eurobonds sold off across the board on Friday as the US 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.98%, its highest since October 2023, after a firmer-than-expected US August CPI; headline inflation of 3.4% and a 0.3% monthly core reading, lifted the odds of a 25bp Federal Reserve hike on 16 September to nearly 90%. Higher global risk-free rates raise dollar funding costs for frontier issuers and erode the relative appeal of their paper, prompting broad selling. Nigeria's 2034 note fell 0.83% to 117.69, its yield climbing to 7.46%, while Egypt 33 dropped 0.97%, South Africa 36 lost 0.73%, and Angola 32 and Ghana 35 each shed 0.60%. For Nigeria the move matters most for refinancing math: a sustained rise in benchmark yields lifts the coupon it must offer on future external borrowing and offsets part of the fiscal relief delivered by oil's recent climb above $100.
Stocks Rally as Hot CPI Seals Fed Hike
Wall Street snapped a four-day losing streak on Friday, the S&P 500 rising 0.86% to 7,656.98, the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.96% to 26,333.04 and the Dow adding 0.98%. Equities advanced even as August CPI came in hot — headline inflation at 3.4% and core at 2.4% — cementing near-90% market odds of a 25bp Fed hike on 16 September, the first since 2023. Investors looked past the inflation print to resilient demand, though the 10-year yield rose to 4.98%, a near two-year high, underlining the tension between firm growth and sticky prices.
NGX Extends Gains as Banks Advance
The Nigerian Exchange extended its recovery on Friday, the All-Share Index rising 0.28% to 243,052.73 and the NGX 30 adding 0.23% to 8,940.99. Breadth was positive, with 33 gainers to 24 losers, and market capitalisation climbed ₦437.40 billion to ₦157.59 trillion. Banking names led the advance, the NGX Banking Index up 0.72% to 2,528.80 in a second straight session of gains. ABBEYBANK, UPDCREIT and OMATEK topped the risers, each near their 10% daily limit, while JOHNHOLT led the fallers. Turnover was moderate at 552.87 million shares worth ₦25.78 billion across 45,614 deals, pointing to selective bargain-hunting in financials rather than broad conviction.
