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Brent Crude Falls to $32/Barrel on US Travel Ban 

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By Adedapo Adesanya 

Brent crude fell on Thursday to $32 per barrel as the coronavirus spread recorded crucial cases, leading to more travel restrictions with the latest being the United States imposing a 30-day ban on foreigners arriving from Europe.

The market fell to the lowest, performing in one of the weakest times in history, adding more pressure on economies already faced by weakened demand, including Nigeria.

The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures was down yesterday by 2.13 percent or 67 cents to $30.75 per barrel.

The United States President, Mr Donald Trump, said on Thursday morning he was suspend human inflow from Europe to his country after the number of coronavirus cases in the United States passed 1,000, crashing the stock market.

The travel ban goes into effect on Friday, March 13 at midnight. The restrictions apply only to foreign nationals, and not US citizens, green card holders or the families of US citizens.

The American government further specified that the ban applies to foreign nationals who have visited 26 countries in Europe that allow unrestricted movement. However, Ireland and the United Kingdom were exempted, although it is not clear why because the virus is also present in the UK.

With this restriction, fuel demand from the UK, one of the biggest consumers of the commodity globally, will also be affected further, along with the worries over the spread added pressure on oil prices.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects oil consumption to have declined by 900,000 barrels per day in the first quarter, noting that in 2020, demand for oil would rise marginally by 400,000 barrels per day.

The body also revised down its price forecast, saying it now expects Brent crude to average $43 per barrel this year, and pegged prices at $37 per barrel during the second quarter as the disease, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has now classified as a pandemic, continues to spread rapidly across the world.

In latest reports, more than 4,600 people have died and over 126,000 infected globally, with 68,000 victims said to have recovered.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

Champion Breweries Lists Additional Shares on Stock Exchange

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By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Additional shares of Champion Breweries Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

A circular from the NGX Regulation Limited confirmed this development on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

The new stocks of the brewery company came from its hybrid offer comprising rights issue and offer for subscription.

Through the two exercises, Champion Breweries issued fresh 2,375,615,342 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each to subscribers, which were brought to the stock exchange for listing.

Business Post reports that 931,712,324 units arose from the rights issue of 994,221,766 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N16.00 per unit, indicating a subscription rate of 93.71 per cent; and 1,443,903,018 units from the offer for subscription of 2,625,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N16.00 per unit, reflecting a subscription rate of 55.01 per cent.

The listing of the new shares of the organisation has increased the total issued and fully paid-up shares to 11,323,611,234 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 8,947,995,892 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.

“With this listing of the additional 2,375,615,342 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Champion Breweries Plc have now increased from 8,947,995,892 to 11,323,611,234 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” a part of the circular signed by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, stated.

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Economy

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Rules Out Seeking IMF Loan

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, says Nigeria has no immediate plans to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance.

Mr Edun made this known at the African Finance Ministers’ briefing during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings on Thursday in Washington, D.C. United States.

He said reliance on ongoing domestic economic reforms was yielding positive results.

According to him, Nigeria’s reforms over the past two years have restored policy credibility and strengthened resilience against global economic shocks affecting many African economies, adding that the country has prioritised market-based adjustments, avoiding administrative controls, particularly in foreign exchange and petroleum pricing mechanisms.

Mr Edun reaffirmed that Nigeria would continue to rely on internal policy measures rather than seeking multilateral lending support at this time.

However, he urged faster and more coordinated financial assistance for African countries amid discussions on a proposed $50 billion global support package.

The Minister said Nigeria had built buffers through reforms, but noted that several African nations remained highly exposed and required urgent external financial support.

He said Nigeria’s reliance on market mechanisms had enabled smoother economic adjustments, reduced disruptions, and sustained the country’s macroeconomic trajectory amid global uncertainties.

However, on Monday, the |Minister said Nigeria would seek stronger international financial support at this week’s IMF-World Bank ‌Spring Meetings as the Iran war lifts fuel costs at home and complicates reforms.

He said ahead of the meeting that surging crude prices had some clear benefits for the country, which is Africa’s top oil producer, boosting foreign exchange earnings.

“But the ⁠shock comes at a critical transition point, intensifying inflationary pressures and raising living costs for households,” he added.

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Economy

NASD Exchange Depreciates 0.29%

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.29 per cent on Thursday, April 16, after two securities plunged at the close of business, offsetting the gains recorded by three securities.

According to data, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 11.11 points to close at 3,862.98 points compared with the previous day’s 3,874.09 points, and the market capitalisation shrank by N6.64 billion to close at N2.311 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.317 trillion.

Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N1.36 to trade at N97.64 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N99.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slipped by N1.16 to sell at N58.00 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N59.16 per unit.

However, NASD Plc appreciated by N1.14 to N38.50 per share from N37.36 per share, UBN Property Plc improved its share price by 20 Kobo to close at N2.18 per unit versus N1.98 per unit, and Lighthouse Financials Plc added 6 Kobo to sell at 72 Kobo per share, in contrast to the 66 Kobo per share it was traded at midweek.

Trading data showed that the value of securities surged by 124.9 per cent to N64.9 million from N28.9 million, the volume of securities increased by 18.4 per cent to 597,775 units from 505,075 units, and the number of deals rose by 2.5 per cent to 41 deals from 40 deals.

At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 58.8 million units exchanged for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

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