Economy
Brent Rises to $43 as OPEC Assures Better Output Cuts Compliance
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent crude rose on Thursday to $43.30 per barrel after gaining $1.08 or 2.56 per cent as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies stressed the importance of full compliance with output cuts during their monthly meeting.
The positive performance was also extended to the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, which appreciated by 81 cents or 2.02 per cent to trade at $40.97 per barrel.
The oil producers, collectively known as OPEC+, held a joint committee meeting via videoconference Thursday to discuss their existing program of output cuts.
In a statement, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) said it will recommend that the OPEC Conference approve an extension of the compensation mechanism, which was set to end in September, until the end of December.
The committee also pegged overall conformity among participating OPEC+ countries in the output cut agreement at 102 per cent in August, including Mexico, citing secondary sources.
Business Post understands that this assurance boosted the confidence of market participants, making them sell higher.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who is also chair of the JMMC, in his opening statement, stressed the need for all countries to fully conform to their production adjustments. He also said that not fully conforming and then compensating at a later date should not become the norm.
The group had previously tapered record production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day to 7.7 million barrels per day starting in August. But the group has said countries that failed to previously meet their quota limits would be compensating for their overproduction.
The panel pressed laggards such as Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates to cut more barrels to compensate for overproduction in May-July, while extending the compensation period from September to the end of December.
The JMMC will hold its next monthly meeting on October 19. The next scheduled meetings of the OPEC Conference and OPEC+ will be held on November 30 and December 1.
The OPEC news overshadowed the restart of US offshore production after Hurricane Sally passed through the Gulf of Mexico which shut down nearly 500,000 barrels per day of output.
However, worries still remain that the coronavirus pandemic could continue to curb demand as a rise in coronavirus cases in some countries may continue to heavily impact the market despite signs of economic recovery.
Global coronavirus cases around the world crossed over 30.2 million on Thursday.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock exchange remained in the red on Friday after it further depreciated by 0.62 per cent due to panic sell-offs in some bellwether equities.
NAHCO lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N148.50, Royal Exchange depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N1.53, GTCO slumped by 9.97 per cent to N115.55, First Holdco dropped 9.84 per cent to quote at N55.00, and Neimeth slipped by 9.60 per cent to N28.12.
On the flip side, Deap Capital increased by 9.89 per cent to N4.89, RT Briscoe expanded by 9.62 per cent to N13.10, International Energy Insurance advanced by 7.43 per cent to N5.06, Jaiz Bank gained 7.14 per cent to sell for N9.00, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank rose by 5.26 per cent to N4.00.
During the session, the energy index chalked up 2.35 per cent, but this was not enough to lift the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of trading activities.
This was because the banking sector lost 4.41 per cent, the insurance counter shed 1.52 per cent, the industrial goods space declined by 0.71 per cent, and the consumer goods segment tumbled by 0.13 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,463.45 points to 235,941.27 points from 237,404.92 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by M939 billion to N151.327 trillion from N152.266 trillion.
The activity chart was topped by Access Holdings, which posted a turnover of 65.0 million shares valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank sold 35.2 million stocks worth N3.9 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 28.4 million equities for N217.8 million, UBA transacted 16.3 million shares valued at N650.7 million, and GTCO traded 14.0 million stocks worth N1.8 billion.
In all, investors transacted 440.4 million equities for N24.7 billion in 50,273 deals, in contrast to the 691.6 million equities valued at N116.9 billion traded in 50,025 deals on Thursday, implying an uptick in the number of deals by 0.50 per cent, and a decrease in the trading volume and value by 36.32 per cent and 78.87 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira again depreciated against the United States Dollar by N7.16 or 0.53 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 19, to N1,370.46/$1 from the previous day’s N1,363.30/$1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency lost N9.07 against the Pound Sterling at the official market yesterday to trade at N1,814.76/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,805.69/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N6.43 to settle at N1,571.50/€1 versus N1,565.07/€1.
Also, the Naira weakened against the greenback in the black market during the session by N5 to sell for N1,390/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N3 to close at N1,376/$1 versus N1,373/$1.
The official market’s FX liquidity has been facing pressure over the last three trading sessions, contributing to a decline in the official exchange rate due to rising demand for foreign payments.
FX reserves rose to $51.03 billion, the highest level since January 20, 2009, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The figure also represents the highest since the beginning of the year and under the administration of the current Governor of CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso.
The latest figure underscores the steady strengthening of Nigeria’s external buffers, which continues to reinforce investor confidence in the Nigerian economy and support exchange rate stability.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was mixed, with Bitcoin (BTC) up by 0.8 per cent to $63,225.80 after trading activity was relatively subdued due to a US federal holiday, as the absence of stock and bond market activity led to quieter conditions across crypto markets, even though digital assets continue to trade around the clock.
Further, TRON (TRX) also gained 0.8 per cent to sell at $0.3230, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.5 per cent to $579.84, and Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $1,704.23.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.9 per cent to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) shed 0.8 per cent to trade at $0.1611, Solana (SOL) fell by 0.1 per cent to $69.23, and Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 0.1 per cent to $0.0831, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent crude gained 66 cents or 0.53 per cent to sell for $80.38 per barrel on Friday after Israel and Hezbollah agreed on a ceasefire in Lebanon, though Iran set conditions for using the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 94 cents or 1.23 per cent to $77.54 per barrel, amid light trading volumes due to the US Juneteenth holiday.
In spite of Friday’s gains, Brent was down about 8 per cent week-over-week, reflecting a significant easing of supply concerns in the wake of the US-Iran deal to end the war.
Gulf producers were preparing to raise exports after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire, which began on Friday.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to halt fighting in southern Lebanon after days of escalating clashes threatened to derail the fragile US-Iran peace process, reducing the risk that the first major test of the agreement would turn into its first major failure.
At least four tankers carrying crude, oil products and liquefied petroleum gas (LNG) entered the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, heading for Iraqi Gulf ports. However, despite the uptick in activity, Iran signalled tighter control over shipping.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said “no vessel is permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without a valid passage permit issued by the PGSA”.
Concerns also remain as a planned meeting between Iranian and American officials in Switzerland on Friday was postponed, with arrangements underway for talks in the coming days.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the meeting was no longer urgent because a memorandum of understanding on ending the war had already been signed digitally between the two sides.
Analysts expect the deal to release more than 85 million barrels of oil stranded in the Middle East Gulf into global markets. The agreement also includes the lifting of US sanctions on Iranian oil, which would add more supply.
However, recovery in flows of supply that transits Hormuz and production after the US-Iran deal could take several months.
On the demand front, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its 2026 World Oil Outlook that world demand will rise to 113.3 million barrels per day in 2030 from 105.1 million barrels per day in 2025.
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