By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira continued to depreciate against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Tuesday, March 4.

During the session, it lost N6.27 or 0.46 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to close at N1,384.29/$1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,378.02/$1.

The local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.92 to quote at N1,842.22/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,846.14/£1, but gained N6.79 on the Euro to close at N1,606.19/€1 compared with Monday’s rate of N1,612.98/€1.

In the parallel market, the Naira further lost N10 against the Dollar during the trading day to settle at N1,375/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,375/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it was traded at N1,373/$1.

The exchange rate has been trending down for over 10 days following an unusual FX purchase activity by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the official market in February.

However, the Naira is expected to trade with a stable bias in line with prevailing market demand and supply dynamics, supported by an improving external reserves position.

Nigeria’s strong net reserves position has been touted as enough, as it rose 50.5 per cent year-on-year to $34.8 billion in 2025 from $23.11 billion in 2024.

The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said that the growth in external reserves reflects stronger external sector fundamentals and sustained policy reforms.

He stated that the figures emphasised the benefits of increased transparency and credibility in foreign exchange management, boosting investor confidence, attracting stronger FX inflows, and improving reserve management practices aimed at preserving capital, ensuring liquidity, and supporting long-term sustainability.

As for the cryptocurrency market, most majors recovered from the weekend lows but couldn’t sustain it over a 24-hour trading period, leaving the market in a holding pattern while it waits for clarity on the Iran situation.

Cardano (ADA) slumped 3.5 per cent to $0.2600, Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 2.7 per cent to trade at $0.0889, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.2 per cent to $1,970.48, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 0.8 per cent to $1.35, and Solana (SOL) decreased by 0.6 per cent to sell at $85.22.

On the flip side, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 1.2 per cent to $54.60, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell for $68,207.17, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose 0.1 per cent to $632.25, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

By Dipo Olowookere

A 0.57 per cent growth was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, resulting in the portfolios of investors swelling by N711 billion, with the market capitalisation closing at N126.199 trillion compared with the previous day’s N125.488 trillion.

In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased at the close of transactions by 1,107.73 points to 196,621.96 points from 195,514.23 points.

Buying pressure was across the key sectors of the market yesterday, with the energy index outshining after it closed higher by 4.52 per cent. The insurance counter appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the consumer goods space improved by 0.88 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.17 per cent, and the banking segment expanded by 0.04 per cent.

Investor sentiment was bullish after Customs Street finished with 39 price gainers and 35 price losers, representing a positive market breadth index.

Sunu Assurances gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.84, UAC Nigeria also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N106.70, Oando grew by 9.96 per cent to N50.25, Sovereign Trust Insurance surged 9.88 per cent to N2.67, and Fortis Global Insurance rose by 9.71 per cent to N1.13.

Conversely, Fidson lost 10.00 per cent to settle at N81.00, Mecure decreased by 9,95 per cent to N68.30, Aluminium Extrusion slipped by 9.88 per cent to N15.50, McNichols gave up 8.26 per cent to quote at N7.00, and Deap Capital shed 8.17 per cent to N6.52.

A total of 880.0 million stocks worth N44.5 billion exchanged hands in 86,761 deals on Tuesday compared with the 789.9 million stocks valued at N35.1 billion traded in 84,259 deals on Monday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 11.41 per cent, 26.78 per cent, and 2.97 per cent, respectively.

Fortis Global Insurance led the activity chart with 58.4 million equities valued at N66.0 million, Sterling Holdco traded 56.8 million shares worth N461.0 million, Japaul exchanged 47.3 million stocks for N189.0 million, Zenith Bank transacted 40.9 million equities valued at N3.8 billion, and Jaiz Bank sold 38.7 million shares worth N483.7 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil gained almost 5 per cent on Tuesday as the United States and Israel’s ​battle with Iran intensified, disrupting energy shipments from the Middle East and stoking fears of a longer conflict.

Brent futures chalked up $3.66 ‌or up 4.7 per cent to trade at $81.40 a barrel, its highest settlement since January 2025, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures appreciated by $3.33 or 4.7 per cent to at $74.56 per barrel.

Israeli and US forces attacked targets across Iran on Tuesday, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes around the Gulf as the conflict spread to Lebanon.

Iran has responded with strikes against regional energy infrastructure and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s ​oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes.

Also, Iraq, which is the second largest crude producer ​in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) behind Saudi Arabia, cut production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day.

The Iraqi government said that disrupted navigation and a shortage of available tankers have pushed storage tanks in southern export terminals toward critical levels, forcing production reductions.

The cuts could ​more than double within days as the country runs out of storage space for crude it cannot export due ⁠to the crisis.

Separately, a drone attack targeted the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country’s largest oil export hub outside the Strait of Hormuz. The incident adds to mounting security risks for Gulf energy infrastructure.

​Concerns increased after Iranian media reported on Monday that Iran will fire on any ship trying to pass through the Strait.

Now, tankers and container ships are avoiding the Strait, with insurers cancelling coverage for vessels and global oil and gas shipping rates soared. Any sustained disruption materially tightens the seaborne crude market, particularly for Middle Eastern barrels bound for Asia.

US President Donald Trump said US and Israeli air attacks ​were projected to last four to five weeks, but could go on longer.

Analysts warn that beyond roughly three weeks of disruption, producers may have no choice but to curb output.

The market is debating how long the supply risk will last, and whether $100 oil is a floor rather than a ceiling if Hormuz does not normalise.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 5.6 million barrels in the week ending February 27, after adding 11.4 million barrels in the week prior. Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.