By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira witnessed a 0.09 per cent or N1.37 depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, March 25, closing at N1,533.66/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,532.29/$1.

Also, the Nigerian currency weakened against the British Pound Sterling yesterday in the official market by N4.62 to quote at N1,985.37/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,980.75/£1 and crashed against the Euro at the same market segment by N3.29 to finish at N1,659.12/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,655.83/€1.

At the parallel market window, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar during the session at N1,570/$1, according to data harvested by Business Post.

The domestic currency has been volatile in the past trading days despite moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sustain FX liquidity to ease the pressure on the Naira.

As for the cryptocurrency market, investors reacted positively to the US Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on inflation and a cooldown in concerns around the upcoming US tariffs, which have supported gains in the past week.

However, the lack of altcoin correlation with Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent moves hints that the current price action might lack broad market support.

During the session, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 5.8 per cent to sell at $0.1942, Solana (SOL) rose by 2.9 per cent to trade at $143.97, Litecoin (LTC) recorded a 2.6 per cent growth to close at $95.01, and Cardano (ADA) jumped by 1.9 per cent to settle at $0.7542.

Further, BTC improved its value on Tuesday by 1.5 per cent to finish at $87,889.95, Ripple (XRP) went up by 1.4 per cent to end at $2.45, and Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.3 per cent to close at $2,068.23.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 1.7 per cent to finish at $632.46, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market was mixed on Tuesday as a truce between Russia and Ukraine offset concerns about tighter global supply due to threatened US tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan production.

Brent crude futures closed higher by 2 cents or 0.03 per cent at $73.02 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 11 cents or 0.16 per cent to $69 per barrel.

The US reached deals with Ukraine and Russia to pause attacks at sea and against energy targets, with Washington agreeing to push to lift some sanctions against Russia.

The agreements are the first formal commitments by the two warring sides since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

President Trump is pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine and a rapid rapprochement with Russia that has alarmed Ukraine and European countries.

The US agreement will help seek the lifting of international sanctions on Russian agriculture and fertiliser exports, a Russian demand that has been in the offing since.

Meanwhile, both sides said they would rely on the US to enforce the deals, while expressing scepticism that the other side would abide by them.

Market analysts confirmed that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine might open the door for the reduction of sanctions on Russian oil.

However, President Trump’s threat of tariffs against countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela has raised supply concerns.

The tariffs have been considered an indirect sanction designed to hurt China’s independent refineries , which are the largest buyers of Venezuelan oil.

The Trump administration has extended a deadline to May 27 for US producer Chevron to wind down operations in Venezuela.

The withdrawal of Chevron’s licence to operate could reduce production in the country by about 200,000 barrels per day.

This is after the US issued new sanctions intended to hit Iranian oil exports last week.

In addition, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) will likely stick to its plan to raise oil output for a second consecutive month in May.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 4.6 million barrels for the week ending March 21. Official information will come from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) later on Wednesday.

By Dipo Olowookere

Interest in financial stocks at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited persisted on Tuesday, helping the bourse to remain in the green territory at the close of transactions.

Business Post reports that Customs Street further appreciated by 0.04 per cent yesterday as a result of the strong appetite for local equities by investors.

According to data from the exchange, Access Holdings traded 36.6 million shares valued at N810.9 million, UBA transacted 26.5 million stocks worth N1.0 billion, Universal Insurance sold 22.0 million equities for N12.8 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 20.5 million shares worth N380.6 million, and Zenith Bank traded 20.1 million equities valued at N970.3 million.

At the close of business, a total of 349.3 million stocks valued N15.1 billion exchanged hands in 12,450 deals compared with thr440.5 million stocks worth N10.5 billion traded in 13,314 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 20.70 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively, and an increase in the trading value by 43.81 per cent.

During the trading session, the insurance sector gained 1.99 per cent, the banking space appreciated by 1.33 per cent, and the industrial goods index improved by 0.01 per cent.

However, the energy counter went down by 1.69 per cent, the commodity sector depreciated by 0.59 per cent, and the consumer goods industry weakened by 0.10 per cent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) soared by 41.89 points on Tuesday to 105,593.28 points from 105,551.39 points and the market capitalisation jumped by N26 billion to settle at N66.215 trillion compared with the previous day’s N66.189 trillion.

The bourse ended with 29 price gainers and 21 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

May and Baker appreciated by 10.00 per cent to sell for N8.80, Mutual Benefits gained 9.59 per cent to trade at 80 Kobo, eTranzact increased by 9.38 per cent to N5.25, Abbey Mortgage Bank surged by 8.86 per cent to N4.30, and Consolidated Hallmark advanced by 8.79 per cent to N3.59.

Conversely, Eterna lost 9.21 per cent to finish at N34.50, Royal Exchange slipped by 7.95 per cent to 81 Kobo, Veritas Kapital shrank by 5.98 per cent to N1.10, Coronation Insurance declined by 5.88 per cent to N2.24, and Oando crashed by 5.66 per cent to N50.00.