Economy
12.5kg Cooking Gas Sold at N4,422 in July—NBS
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
The average price of refilling a 12.5-kilogramme cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, increased by 3.1 per cent in July to N4,422.
This was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Price Watch Report for July 2021.
In the report analysed by Business Post, the stats office said data it collated for the month showed that the price increased in monetary terms by N133 from the average price of N4,289 it was sold for in June 2021.
According to data, Abuja recorded the highest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cooking gas with N5,050, followed by Gombe at N5,000 and Kogi at N4,985.
However, Kaduna State recorded the lowest average price of refilling of the cylinder size as it sold on at an average of N3,718.1. This was followed by Zamfara and Oyo, which sold to end-users for N3,725.4 and N3,859 respectively.
For users of the 5kg alternative, the average cost of buying cooking gas increased nationwide in the month under review from N2,068.7 to N2,141.6, indicating a 3.5 per cent increase month-on-month.
The data showed that Akwa Ibom, Benue, and Bauchi States were regions with the highest average prices of refilling 5kg cylinder of LPG as the product was sold to consumers for N2,600, N2,540, and N2,486 in those areas respectively.
Meanwhile, Abuja saw the lowest average cost at which people refilled their 5kg cylinder for N1,806.2, while people in Lagos did theirs at the price of N1,840.8, while Ondo residents did theirs for an average cost of N1,842.9.
On a broader view, it was observed that the highest average cooking gas prices were recorded in the North Central region which has an average cost of N4775.5 while the North-West zone recorded the lowest to the sum of N4083.7.
As for the 5kg cylinder, it was most expensive in the North-East zone at N2306.7, unlike in the South West region where it was sold on average to consumers for N1882.6.
The price of LPG has maintained its upward trajectory since December last year and has left an increasing number of its consumers in the nation lamenting over the ugly situation considering the economic reality.
The continuous hike in the price of the product can be attributed to the low supply of the product from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), especially into rural areas where it is being demanded, as well as scarcity and high cost of foreign exchange (FX) for importation.
It can be also observed that the multiple administrative levies charged on marketers by some agencies of government have influenced the average price at which the cooking gas is sold to end-users.
At the moment, the price of the 12.kg cooking gas goes for over N6,000 at the retail market.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.36 per cent on Wednesday, August 19, slicing the market capitalisation of the platform by N9.41 billion to N2.60 trillion from N2.610 trillion, and reducing the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 15.67 points to 4,333.09 from 4,348.76 points.
The securities depository company lost N10.30 at midweek to close at N88.12 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N90.02 per share.
This offset the 38 Kobo gained by Golden Capital Plc during the session. The stock traded at N14.05 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N13.67 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities soared by 557.2 per cent to 747,429 units from 113,728 units, the value of securities jumped by 934.0 per cent to N9.4 million from N375.7 million, and the number of deals increased by 35.5 per cent to 42 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.9 million units worth N5.8 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira weakened by N7.09 or 0.53 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, August 19, to N1,350.41/$1 from the previous rate of N1,343.32/$1.
The local currency also significantly depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday, by N19.87, to close at N1,839.13/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,819.26/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N18.07 to end at N1,574.31/€1 versus Tuesday’s price of N1,556.24/€1.
However, at the black market, the Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank forex desk at N1,357/$1.
Interbank FX turnover increased by 1.72 per cent to $370.980 million from $364.709 million, according to the daily update by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
On the other hand, the number of interbank FX deals declined to 100, from 108 the previous day, reflecting a moderate slowdown in activities.
Available data from the central bank showed that demand for FX by end-users in Nigeria fell by 35.23 per cent to $3.42 billion in April 2026, easing pressure on the Dollar market as the Naira recorded modest gains.
This occurred as FX utilisation across economic sectors declined during the month, while the Naira strengthened at the official market. Across several sectors, including oil, food, and manufacturing, there were drops.
The monthly average exchange rate improved 1.38 per cent to N1,361.22 per Dollar in April from N1,379.98/$1 in March. At the end of the review month, the domestic currency closed at N1,374.94 per Dollar at NAFEM, compared with N1,386.72/$1 at the end of March.
In the cryptocurrency market, coins recorded massive jumps following the US Treasury’s decision to at least double bond buyback operations and was reinforced by a bond-market surge and President Donald Trump’s call for Congress to advance crypto market-structure legislation.
The American President urged Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, calling for “a fair version” of the market structure bill that has been stuck in the Senate.
Ethereum (ETH) surged by 18.2 per cent to $2,261.93, Solana (SOL) rose by 11.4 per cent to $85.77, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 10.5 per cent to $1.10, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 8.6 per cent to $69,784.82, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $0.0751, Cardano (ADA) rose by 4.8 per cent to $0.1842, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 4.5 per cent to $628.45, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.1 per cent to $0.3330, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Those who purchased the N40 billion bond issued by Geregu Power Plc in 2022 but did not receive payments last month as expected have reportedly now been paid by the energy company.
Geregu Power, listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, was in the news recently over the repayment default on July 28, 2026, triggering panic in the capital market.
Last week, the organisation admitted the issues caused by this default, but said, “Discussions and engagements are ongoing, and the company will continue to act in good faith in fulfilling its responsibilities.”
It further disclosed that “relevant stakeholders and advisers [are being actively engaged] regarding the resolution of the various challenges and is committed to achieving an orderly and mutually beneficial outcome.”
The latest information indicated that N6.03 billion owed investors under the firm’s N40.09 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond has been cleared.
This is expected to bring relief to investors, who may have feared the worst after the entity failed to meet its debt obligations when due.
However, on the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the status of the debt instrument remains as “credit default in the 8th coupon payment and 4th bullet principal repayment.”
As of the time of filing this report, Geregu Power has yet to confirm the clearing of the N6 billion debt.
