Economy
US Demand Data, Possible Gaza Ceasefire Weaken Oil Prices
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled slightly lower on Thursday, pressured by weaker US demand data and reports of a United Nations draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
At the market yesterday, the price of the Brent crude futures fell by 17 cents or 0.2 per cent to $85.78 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 20 cents or 0.3 per cent to trade at $81.07 a barrel.
Crude inventories in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer, declined last week, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday, and even though petrol (called gasoline) inventories fell for a seventh week, down 3.3 million barrels to 230.8 million, gasoline product supplied, an indicator for product demand, slipped below 9 million barrels.
According to market analysts, the fall suggested that gasoline markets, which had underpinned a recent market rally, may have been overbought.
Prices were also pressured by confirmation that the US drafted a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire that would allow the release of 40 Israeli hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.
The Secretary of State for the US, Mr Antony Blinken, said on Thursday that he believed talks in Qatar could still reach a Gaza ceasefire.
Investors also took heart from the US central bank, which held interest rates in a range of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent on Wednesday but kept an outlook for three rate cuts this year.
Lower rates could boost economic growth, which is good news for oil sales.
Meanwhile, data from the US showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting that job growth remained strong in March. This could be an indicator of good demand in the future.
Also, the market continues to weigh Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, which has prompted investors to trade crude at higher prices, factoring in that the strikes could hit global petroleum supplies.
Ukrainian drones have targeted at least seven Russian refineries this month; according to reports, the attacks have shut down 7 per cent, or around 370,500 barrels per day, of Russian refining capacity.
Analysts say prolonged disruptions could force Russian producers to reduce supply if they are unable to export crude oil and face storage constraints.
Elsewhere, Germany’s economy was likely in recession in the first quarter of 2024 as weak consumption and anaemic industrial demand continued to push the recovery further into the future.
Also on Thursday, the Bank of England’s governor said Britain’s economy is moving in the right direction for the central bank to start cutting interest rates.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
