Economy
Brent Soars to $113 as Libya Halts Oil Production
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market witnessed growth on Monday as supply disruption pushed prices higher after one of Africa’s top exporters, Libya, announced shutting down production.
The Libyan National Oil Company (NOC) declared force majeure on another key Libyan oil field, the 300,000 barrels per day Al Sharara, amid protests that had shut down oil production in strategic places.
According to the NOC, “a group of individuals put pressure on workers in the Al-Sharara oil field, which forced them to gradually shut down production and made it impossible for the NOC to implement its contractual obligations”.
The NOC said it was “obliged” to declare a state of force majeure on Al Sharara “until further notice”.
Al-Sharara is Libya’s biggest oilfield, and the move effectively suspends all Libyan oil production and exports.
The state oil company said that loadings of crude oil at two Libyan ports had been suspended amid anti-government protests that were interfering with oil industry operations.
Loading from the Mellita terminal was suspended following a shutdown in production at the El Feel oil field, with the NOC stating that individuals were preventing the field’s workers from continuing production.
Also, the NOC has shut down operations at the Zueitina export terminal over protests calling for the resignation of incumbent Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
The NOC has been eyeing a ramp-up in production to 1.4 million barrels per day for Libya, but a new political battle is setting the stage for a potential return to civil war.
This caused the price of the Brent crude to jump 1.13 per cent or $1.26 to $113.0 per barrel as the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.82 per cent or 88 cents to $107.8 per barrel.
On the political front, two rival governments have now emerged in Libya, with incumbent Prime Minister Deibah refusing to step down for newly sworn-in eastern prime minister Fathi Bashaga, who last week said his forces would take over the capital Tripoli peacefully.
The latest protests that have led to force majeure appear to be engineered by supporters of the Bashaga to gain control of the oil industry from supporters of the incumbent Dbeibah.
Prices were pressured by concerns about energy demand in China, whose economy slowed in March, taking the shine off first-quarter growth numbers.
The largest oil importer also faces a worsening outlook already weakened by COVID-19 curbs.
By Dipo Olowookere
Christmas came early for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it extended its positive run on Tuesday with a 0.82 per cent growth.
The last trading session before Christmas was bullish as investors embraced Santa Claus rally, mopping up shares with sound fundamentals across the key sectors of the bourse.
During the session, the insurance index appreciated by 1.49 per cent, the banking space expanded by 0.98 per cent, the consumer goods counter improved by 0.49 per cent, the industrial goods counter gained 0.15 per cent and the energy sector jumped by 0.14 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 829.88 points to 102,186.03 points from 101,356.15 points and the market capitalisation grew by N503 billion to N61.944 trillion from N61.441 trillion.
MRS Oil gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N217.80, Ikeja Hotel improved by 9.95 per cent to N11.05, Multiverse advanced by 9.90 per cent to N5.55, SAHCO rose by 9.84 per cent to N30.70, and John Holt increased by 9.69 per cent to N6.45.
Conversely, Thomas Wyatt shed 10.00 per cent to quote at N1.71, Caverton shrank by 7.35 per cent to N2.27, Coronation Insurance declined by 5.03 per cent to N1.70, Haldane McCall slipped by 5.00 per cent to N4.75, and Livestock Feeds moderated by 5.00 per cent to N3.80.
When the market ended for the session to resume on Friday, 37 stocks were on the gainers’ chart and 21 stocks were on the losers’ table, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
A total of 431.8 million shares worth N18.3 billion in 8,369 deals during the session compared with the 503.2 million shares valued at N16.3 billion in 12,490 deals, indicating a rise in the trading value by 12.27 per cent and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 14.19 per cent and 32.99 per cent, respectively.
The busiest equity for the session was UBA with 51.2 million units valued at N1.9 billion, Universal Insurance exchanged 49.6 million units for N25.1 million, C&I Leasing transacted 37.2 million units worth N134.0 million, Dangote Cement traded 34.3 million units worth N11.1 billion, and GTCO sold 17.4 million units valued at N1.0 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.06 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 24, with the market capitalisation increasing by N620 million to close at N1.032 trillion compared with the N1.031 trillion it ended a day earlier.
Business Post reports that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) added 1.81 points to wrap the session at 3,011.59 points compared with 3,009.78 points recorded in the previous session.
The expansion recorded by the alternative stock exchange was triggered by Geo-Fluids Plc, which grew its price by 41 Kobo to N4.61 per unit from N4.20 per unit.
However, the price of UBN Property Plc went down by 20 Kobo at the Christmas Eve session to finish at N1.80 per share, in contrast to the N2.00 per share it ended a day earlier.
Yesterday, the market participants completed eight deals compared with the 31 deals carried out in the preceding trading session, representing a decline of 74.2 per cent.
In the same vein, the volume of securities traded in the session shrank by 38.9 per cent to 5.3 million units from the 8.3 million units recorded in the previous trading day, as the value of transactions decreased by 40.0 per cent to N23.8 million from N39.6 million.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N4.0 billion, Okitipupa Plc came next with 752.4 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc occupied the third position with 297.7 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.4 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.7 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
The market will be closed for two days – December 25 and 26 – to mark the Christmas holidays and trading will resume on Friday, December 27.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira witnessed a depreciation of 0.07 per cent or N1.10 against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, December 24.
Data showed that the exchange rate of the local currency to its American counterpart closed on Christmas Eve at N1,540.65/$1, in contrast to the N1,539.55/$1 it was traded on Monday.
Similarly, the domestic currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N7.44 to sell for N1,954.07/£1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,946.63/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N3.16 to settle at N1,614.89/€1 versus the preceding day’s N1,611.73/€1.
Market analysts noted that the access of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform has continued to keep a lid on the rates.
Also, increased December activity through the influx of tourists has helped strengthen the demand for the local currency.
In the black market on Tuesday, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback by N5 to sell at N1,650/$1 compared with the N1,655/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market experienced a Santa rally during the trading session, with Bitcoin (BTC) rising by 4.1 per cent to quote at $98,152.89, and Dogecoin (DOGE) growing by 3.4 per cent to sell at $0.3327.
Further, Solana (SOL) jumped by 3.1 per cent to trade at $198.50, Ethereum (ETH) improved its value by 2.8 per cent to close at $3,498.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 2.2 per cent to settle at $703.87, Cardano (ADA) rose by 2.1 per cent to finish at $0.9208, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 1.8 per cent to end the day at $2.29, and Litecoin (LTC) recorded a 1.7 per cent rise to trade at $108.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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