Economy

More Earnings for Nigeria as Brent Crude Trades $51

Published

5 years ago

17/12/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The price of the Brent crude oil rose by 30cent or 0.59 per cent on Wednesday to trade at $51.07 per barrel at the global market for the first time since March.

This will be good news to Nigeria, which depends largely on crude oil sale to generate revenue to fund its budget. The country set its oil benchmark for the year at $40 and at $51, it is making an extra $11.

Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a decline in the United States stockpiles by 3.1 million barrels for the week to December 11 and during the trading session, the price of the US futures, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, appreciated by 0.38 per cent or 19 cents to trade at $47.80 per barrel.

The EIA report came out a day after the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated inventory builds which pressured prices. It reported a build in crude oil inventories of 1.9 million barrels for the week ending December 11.

Analysts had expected the EIA to report a 3.5 million barrels decline in crude oil inventories for the period after it estimated a huge build of over 15 million barrels for the previous week.

The gains outweighed worries about demand as several European countries reinstated or tightened their movement restrictions, despite the upcoming holidays, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

On Wednesday, Germany entered a strict lockdown as the number of registered deaths from COVID-19 jumped by the highest daily increase yet.

The new German lockdown will run from December 16 to January 10, but there will be a slight easing over Christmas when one household will be able to host a maximum of four close family members.

France has lifted its national lockdown, but the government said the infection rate had not lowered sufficiently for further easing. This means theatres and cinemas will remain shut as will bars and restaurants. A 10-hour nationwide curfew will also be imposed and will be lifted on Christmas eve but not on New Year’s eve.

Meanwhile, Italy’s daily death toll is still close to 500 and the government is considering a further tightening of measures over Christmas. This means the country could go into a lockdown again.

This adds to the troubled demand outlook after both the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) revised down their estimates for oil demand for 2020 and 2021.

The Paris-based IEA noted that this year, oil demand will further drop by 50,000 barrels per day and for next year by 170,000 barrels per day, citing reduced jet fuel use as fewer people travel by air.

OPEC, on its part, expects global oil demand to fall by 9.77 million barrels per day in 2020 to reach 89.99 million barrels per day while expectations for 2021 were lowered to 95.89 million barrels per day from 96.26 million barrels per day.

OPEC has agreed to lift production by 500,000 barrels per day next year and will re-evaluate where the market is to determine the next month’s quota. OPEC will hold their next meeting on January 4.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

21 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

23 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

23 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.