Economy
Nigeria Inflation Slightly Drops to 15.91% in October
By Dipo Olowookere
Inflation in Nigeria in the month of October 2017 marginally moderated to 15.91 percent (year-on-year) from 15.98 percent in September 2017, representing a 0.07 percent margin.
This is according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, November 15, 2017.
In the data obtained by Business Post, the drop in the inflation rate for last month is the ninth consecutive disinflation (slowdown in the inflation rate though still positive) in headline year-on-year inflation since January 2017.
According to the stats office, while average headline year-on-year inflation for the first five months of the year (January to May 2017) stood at 17.45 percent, average headline year-on-year inflation for the next five months of the year (June to October 2017), stood at 16.01 percent, indicating disinflation from June to date, compared to from January to May 2017.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.76 percent in October 2017, 0.02 percent points lower from the rate of 0.78 percent recorded in September. This represents the fifth consecutive month-on-month contraction in headline inflation since May 2017.
While average headline month-on-month inflation for the first five months of the year (January to May 2017) stood at 1.54 percent, average headline month-on-month inflation for the next five months of the year (June to October 2017), stood at 1.06 percent indicating disinflation from June to date compared to from January to May 2017.
This indicates that while prices have remained high in 2017, they have tended to slow down their pace of increase since May 2017 both on a year-on-year and month-on-month basis.
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve-month period ending in October 2017 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period, which has also trended downwards since May 2017 was 16.97 percent, showing 0.2 percent point lower from 17.17 percent recorded in September 2017.
The Urban index rose by 16.19 percent (year-on-year) in October2017, up by 0.01 percent point from 16.18 percent recorded in September and the Rural index increased by 15.67 percent in October 2017 down from 15.81 percent in September 2017.
On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.82 percent in October 2017, down from 0.84 percent recorded in August, while the rural index rose by 0.72 percent in October 2017, down from 0.74 percent in September.
The corresponding twelve-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 17.57 percent in October. This was less than 17.87 percent reported in September 2017, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in October was 16.41 percent compared to 16.52 percent recorded in September 2017.
Also, high food price and food price pressure continued into September though generally at a slower pace.
The Food Index increased by 20.31 percent (year-on-year) in October, down marginally by 0.01 percent points from the rate recorded in September (20.32 percent).
While average year on year food inflation for the first five months of the year (January to May 2017) stood at 18.67 percent, average year on year food inflation for the next five months of the year (June to October 2017), was higher at 20.22 percent indicating higher food price inflation on average in the second five months of the year compared to the first five months.
On a month-on-month basis, the Food sub-index increased by 0.85 percent in October, down from 0.87 percent recorded in August.
This represents the fifth consecutive disinflation in month on month inflation since a 2017 high of 2.57 percent in May 2017. October 2017 also represents the lowest recorded month on month inflation since September 2016.
While average month on month food inflation for the first five months of the year (January to May 2017) stood at 2.01 percent, average month on month food inflation for the next five months of the year (June to October 2017), stood at 1.27 percent indicating a general slow-down in the rise in food prices from June to date compared to from January to May 2017, though the rate of price increases has remained generally higher on a year on year basis.
The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending in October 2017 over the previous twelve month average was 19.14 percent, 0.26 percent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in September (18.88) percent
The rise in the food index, in October 2017 was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, meats, oils and fats, coffee tea and cocoa, milk cheese and eggs vegetables and fish.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn