By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further strengthened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 14, by N5.83 or 0.36 per cent to settle at N1,605.25/$1, in contrast to the N1,611.08/$1 it was traded in the previous session, which was last Friday.

Equally, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market during the session by N34.55 to quote at N2,056.03/£1 versus the preceding trading day’s value of N2,090.58/£1 and gained N45.66 on the Euro to finish at N1,770.14/€1 compared with the N1,815.82/€1 it was exchanged in the previous trading session.

In the same vein, the domestic currency improved its exchange rate against the Dollar yesterday by N5 in the black market to sell for N1,615/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,620/$1.

The pressure on the Nigerian currency eased on Monday as tariffs from the United States were paused, and recent signals showed that the government was complementing efforts to stabilise the market via adequate liquidity and supporting orderly market functioning.

A look at the cryptocurrency market showed a mixed outcome as President Donald Trump of the United States, after pausing sweeping global tariffs, made some concessions on electronics imports.

Further easing concerns was the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, confirming to hold off on retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth €21 billion until July 14 to allow space for negotiations.

The US Federal Reserve also signalled that a return of the original punitive Mr Trump tariffs would trigger the need for sizable “bad news” rate cuts.

Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated yesterday by 3.5 per cent to sell at $0.1593, Solana (SOL) which lost 1.2 per cent to trade at $130.99, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.6 per cent to $77.74, and Cardano (ADA) dropped 0.3 per cent to close at $0.6405.

On the flip side, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 1.2 per cent to $85,435.17, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.9 per cent to $1,636.35, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $2.14, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.08 per cent to $588.65, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

By Dipo Olowookere

The first trading session of this week at Customs Street ended with a marginal 0.03 per cent loss on Monday following profit-taking in financial and energy sectors.

The counters closed lower during the session as investors re-caliberated their portfolios due to the instability in the global financial markets.

The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was down yesterday by 33.72 points to 104,529.62 points from 104,563.34 points and the market capitalisation depleted by N22 billion to N65.685 trillion from N65.707 trillion.

Business Post reports that the banking index crumbled by 1.99 per cent, the insurance sector depreciated by 0.36 per cent, and the energy counter lost 0.19 per cent, while the consumer goods space improved by 0.08 per cent, with the industrial goods and commodity indices closing flat.

It was observed that despite the disappointing outcome, the market breadth index was positive after the bourse ended with 28 price gainers and 24 price losers, representing a strong investor sentiment.

International Energy Insurance lost 9.76 per cent to trade at N1.48, Consolidated Hallmark shed 8.33 per cent to N2.75, Japaul went down by 7.46 per cent to N1.86, Chams dropped 6.98 per cent to N2.00, and Neimeth eased by 6.94 per cent to N2.68.

Conversely, Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 9.95 per cent to N6.74, UPDC gained 9.82 per cent to sell for N3.13, Guinea Insurance increased by 9.52 per cent to 69 Kobo, VFD Group jumped by 9.46 per cent to N96.00, and Sovereign Trust Insurance soared by 9.41 per cent to 93 Kobo.

Yesterday, a total of 428.2 million shares worth N10.5 billion exchanged hands in 14,583 deals versus the 380.0 million shares worth N10.1 billion traded in 10,791 deals last Friday, implying a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 12.68 per cent, 3.96 per cent and 35.14 per cent, respectively.

The activity chart was topped by Access Holdings with 56.0 million equities sold for N1.2 billion, Zenith Bank traded 55.4 million stocks valued at N2.8 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 39.0 million shares worth N725.9 million, UBA exchanged 33.2 million equities valued at N1.0 billion, and GTCO traded 31.0 million stocks for N2.1 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market was slightly up on Monday on the back of exemptions for some electronics from US tariffs and data showing a sharp rebound in China’s crude imports in March.

During the trading session, Brent crude futures improved by 12 cents or 0.2 per cent to $64.88 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures grew by 3 cents to trade at $61.53 a barrel.

The President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, last Friday granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers, and some other electronic goods imported largely from China.

It was the latest in a series of policy announcements that imposed tariffs and then walked them back, spurring uncertainty for investors and businesses.

President Trump later said on Sunday he would announce the tariff rate on imported semiconductors in the coming days.

For the Chinese imports, the exclusion of the tech products applies only to President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which climbed to 125 per cent this week as the prior 20 per cent duties on all Chinese imports that he said were related to the US fentanyl crisis remain in place.

China increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent last Friday, hitting back against the American president’s decision to further raise duties on Chinese goods and increasing the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains.

These developments raise concerns that the trade war could weaken global economic growth and dent fuel demand.

China’s crude oil imports in March rebounded sharply from the previous two months and were up nearly 5 per cent from a year earlier boosted by Iranian oil and a rebound in Russian deliveries.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a monthly report on Monday that global oil demand will rise by 1.3 million barrels per day in 2025, down by 150,000 barrels per day from last month’s forecast, citing trade tariffs among the reasons.

Top market analysts like Goldman Sachs and UBS have also cut their forecast.

Goldman Sachs expects Brent to average $63 and WTI to average $59 for the remainder of 2025, with Brent averaging $58 and WTI $55 in 2026 while UBS reduced its Brent forecasts by $12 a barrel to $68.

The US could stop Iranian oil exports as part of President Trump’s plan to pressure Iran over its nuclear programme.

However, Iran and the US held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week.