By Adedapo Adesanya

Food Concepts Plc and Acorn Petroleum Plc were the catalysts that brought down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.33 per cent on Friday, November 29.

The NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 9.94 points to wrap the session at 3,016.66 points compared with 3,026.60 points recorded in the previous session, and the OTC market capitalisation lost N3.48 billion to settle at N1.057 trillion, in contrast to the previous day’s N1.060 trillion.

Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food chains – Chicken Republic and PieXpress, lost 17 Kobo to settle at N1.58 per share versus the previous session’s N1.75 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc recorded a 15 Kobo depreciation to quote at N1.54 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing rate of N1.69 per unit.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc improved its value by N2.23 to trade at N24.58 per share compared with the preceding day’s N22.35 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to close at N3.95 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N3.90 per unit.

There was a decline in the volume of securities traded by investors by 85.3 per cent to 433,854 units from the 2.9 million units recorded a day earlier, the value of shares recorded during the session slid by 88.9 per cent to N876,364.63 from N7.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 25 per cent to 15 deals from the 12 deals posted a day earlier.

Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units sold for N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 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, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar by 1.7 per cent or N27.83 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, November 29 as supply weakened ahead of the official unveiling of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) next week.

The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar in the official market ended yesterday at N1,672.69/$1, in contrast to the N1,644.86/$1 it closed on Thursday.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions went down by 56.7 per cent or $306.24 million to $254.10 million from the $560.34 million achieved the previous day.

However, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the trading session by N13.38 to settle at N2,111.48/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N2,124.86/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N15.61 to finish at N1,757.57/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,773.18/€1.

The CBN EFEMS initiative designed to ensure transparent, fair, and efficient FX trading, minimise counterparty risks, and enforce compliance with CBN regulations will go live on Monday, December 2.

The apex bank has pegged the minimum tradable amount at $100,000, with incremental clip sizes of $50,000 to promote transparency and efficiency in the FX market.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N15 to settle at N1,735/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,750/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) surged by 18.9 per cent the past 24 hours to finish at $1.92, extending a month-long run that has seen the price rise 200 per cent to make the token the best-performing major token alongside Dogecoin (DOGE).

Further, Litecoin (LTC) added 6.6 per cent to close at $101.96, Cardano (ADA) rose by 5.9 per cent to $1.13, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 5.4 per cent to $0.4265, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 4.2 per cent to sell at $3,697.06, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 3.7 per cent to trade at $674.85, Solana (SOL) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $244.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $96,811.57, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) fell by 0.03 per cent to $0.9999, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The crude oil market closed lower on Friday, extending pressures from the week due to easing concerns over supply risks from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and the prospect of increased supply in 2025.

Brent crude depreciated by 34 cents or 0.46 per cent yesterday to settle at $72.94 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contracted by 72 cents or 1.05 per cent to $68.00 per barrel.

For the week, Brent declined by 3.1 per cent while WTI lost 4.8 per cent as trading activity was muted because of the US Thanksgiving public holiday.

Worries about the ceasefire continued to impact the market with Israeli tanks entering a Lebanese border village.

The ceasefire that took effect on Wednesday reduced oil’s risk premium, sending prices lower despite accusations of violations by both sides.

However, the Middle East conflict has not disrupted supply, which is expected to be more ample in 2025.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) sees the prospect of more than 1 million barrels per day of excess supply, equal to more than 1 per cent of global output.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies such as Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, postponed its next meeting on output policy to December 5 from December 1.

The group said moving the date would avoid a clash with a summit of Gulf Arab countries which is due to be held in Kuwait City on December 1 which several OPEC+ ministers plan to attend.

Prior to this development, OPEC+ was discussing postponing its oil output hike due to start in January for the first quarter of 2025.

Top OPEC+ ministers have held talks ahead of the meeting. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, de facto head of OPEC, on Wednesday had a phone call with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev while in Kazakhstan on an official visit.

Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia held talks in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Market analysts warned that the group has to consider the risk of further price weakness amid expectations for robust production from non-OPEC+ producers next year could lead to a crude surplus.

Others also worry that the incoming Donald Trump administration could have a high influence on decision-making.