Economy
US Fuel Stocks Drop Lift Oil Prices
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher on Thursday after data showed gasoline and distillate drawdowns in the US while worries about supply disruptions in Russia also supported prices.
Brent futures gained 44 cents or 0.58 per cent to trade at $76.48 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 32 cents or 0.44 per cent to $72.57 per barrel.
The Energy Information Administration said on Thursday that US crude oil stockpiles rose slightly more than expected while fuel inventories fell last week as seasonal maintenance at refineries led to lower processing.
Crude inventories rose by 4.6 million barrels to 432.5 million barrels in the week ended February 14 while gasoline stocks fell by 151,000 barrels to 247.9 million barrels, the EIA said and distillate stockpiles, which includes diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.1 million barrels to 116.6 million barrels.
Market analysts noted that the crude build was a bit larger than expected, but the modest draw in gasoline and a larger draw in distillate kept total inventories flat.
Meanwhile, Russia and the US have had their first meeting since the start of the Ukraine war, aimed at restoring relations and preparing the ground for ending the conflict.
However, disruptions to oil supply kept prices elevated as Russia attacked Ukrainian gas infrastructure and damaged gas production facilities overnight.
Russia said Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil flows, a major route for crude exports from Kazakhstan, were reduced by as much as 40 per cent on Tuesday after a Ukraine drone attack on a pumping station.
Pressure came as potential restarts of oil flow from Iraq’s Kurdistan region even as Turkey, which hosts the port of Ceyhan that loads Iraqi oil from the Kurdistan region, said it had not received confirmation from Iraq on the resumption.
A resumption of the Iraqi oil flows would add 300,000 barrels of supply per day onto the market.
Concerns about European and Chinese demand also helped to keep prices in check.
Import tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump’s administration could dent oil prices by raising the cost of consumer goods.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further rose by 1.46 per cent on Thursday, July 30, with the index up by 63.29 points to 4,388.17 points from the preceding day’s 4,324.88 points, and the market capitalisation adding N37.99 billion to end at N2.633.84 trillion, in contrast to Wednesday’s N2.595 trillion.
The growth recorded yesterday was influenced by three securities, which overpowered the losses printed by five price losers, led by MRS Oil Plc, which shed N16.25 to close at N146.55 per unit versus N162.80 per unit.
Further, NASD Plc lost N3.26 to settle at N34.10 per share compared with the preceding session’s N37.36 per share, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc eased by N1.00 to N19.00 per unit from N20.00 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 25 Kobo to N2.28 per share from N2.53 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc decreased by 3 Kobo to 49 Kobo per unit from 52 Kobo per unit.
But Okitipupa Plc advanced by N22.43 to N280.00 per share from N257.57 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N6.46 to N101.46 per unit from N95.00 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc improved by N2.05 to N22.68 per share from N20.63 per share.
The volume of securities bought and sold on the platform went up by 1,096.6 per cent to 2.6 million units from 213,893 units, and the value of securities rose by 494.9 per cent to N88.3 million from N14.8 million, while the number of deals depleted by 13.6 per cent to 38 deals from 44 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.5 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was relatively stable against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, July 30, after declining for three straight sessions.
Yesterday, it depreciated by 3 Kobo against the greenback in the official market to sell for N1,366.73/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,366.71/$1.
It also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the session by N18.47 to quote at N1,834.29/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,815.82/£1, and lost N17.65 on the Euro to close at N1,572.97/€1, in contrast to Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,555.32/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar on Thursday at N1,400/$1, and also at the GTBank forex desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The Nigerian currency witnessed a slight pressure yesterday, as demand for FX by financial institutions impacted the trajectory of the local currency, with some unable to clear their bids.
The interbank FX turnover fell below the previous day’s record, settling at $58.423 million, representing more than a 4.2 per cent decline from $61.034 million reported the previous day.
Also, the number of deals executed by financial institutions acting as market makers at the NFEM window fell by 71, from 86 previously recorded.
The latest update from the CBN showed that Nigeria’s foreign reserves declined further, settling at $51.922 billion from $51.938 billion the previous day.
Meanwhile, major cryptocurrencies rebounded following a powerful rebound in global equity and chip stocks, as investors saw a boost in the Asian market as South Korea’s Kospi index surged as much as 17 per cent, led by big gains in Samsung, SK Hynix and Taiwan Semiconductor after a sharp two-week selloff.
In the US, there was the largest rally in chip stocks in more than a year, with the Nasdaq 100 snapping a six-day losing streak. Amazon rose nearly 10 per cent after hours on strong cloud earnings, while Apple fell 6 per cent as supply shortages hit its sales forecast.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 4.1 per cent to $0.1691, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 3.4 per cent to $591.74, Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $74.34, Ripple (XRP) rose by 0.8 per cent to $1.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.7 per cent to sell at $64,432.11.
Further, TRON (TRX) improved by 0.6 per cent to $0.3284, Dogecoin (DOGE) soared by 0.5 per cent to $0.0712, and Ethereum (ETH) climbed 0.3 to $1,907.80, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shed 0.66 per cent on Thursday, driven primarily by sell-offs in financial stocks.
During the session, the insurance counter depreciated by 2.26 per cent, the banking space dropped 2.04 per cent, the consumer goods index tumbled by 1.18 per cent, and the industrial goods sector gave up 0.70 per cent. They offset the 0.01 per cent leap recorded by the energy segment at the close of business.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 1,617.91 points to 245,362.26 points from the previous day’s 246,980.17 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by N1.005 trillion to N158.340 trillion from Wednesday’s N159.345 trillion.
The worst-performing equity was Tripple Gee, which crashed by 10.00 per cent to N2.88. Lasaco Assurance declined by 9.92 per cent to N2.18, C&I Leasing slumped by 9.84 per cent to N5.50, Mutual Benefits depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N3.22, and Trans-Nationwide Express decreased by 9.03 per cent to N2.82.
The best-performing equity was Legend Internet, which chalked up 8.64 per cent to close at N4.40. DAAR Communications advanced by 7.32 per cent to N1.76, Sterling Holdings grew by 6.67 per cent to N8.00, Sovereign Trust Insurance expanded by 5.73 per cent to N2.03, and Royal Exchange soared by 4.69 per cent to N1.34.
Trading activity yesterday improved when compared with midweek’s, with the volume of trades up by 176.72 per cent to 2.1 billion shares from the 758.9 million shares recorded a day earlier. The value of transactions increased by 582.84 per cent to N230.8 billion from N33.8 billion, and the number of deals shrank by 12.71 per cent to 48,231 deals from the 55,251 deals executed on Wednesday.
First Holdco was the busiest stock for the day, with a turnover of 1.6 billion units valued at N196.2 billion, Access Holdings sold 37.4 million units for N998.5 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 36.0 million units worth N286.8 million, Ellah Lakes transacted 34.8 million units for N297.8 million, and Zenith Bank traded 33.1 million units valued at N4.0 billion.
