Economy

Brent Crude Rises on Middle East Tensions, Drop in Stockpiles

Published

6 years ago

03/01/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil traded higher on Thursday as traders resumed activities following the new year celebrations amid elevated tensions in the Middle East and reports that US crude stockpiles fell further for the fourth consecutive week.

The international benchmark, Brent crude futures, rose 20 cents to or 0.3 percent to $66.20 per barrel, while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 6 cents or 0.1 percent at $61.12 per barrel as at 9 pm Nigerian time on Thursday.

The Middle East tension took a different turn over the weekend as the United States’ military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed Katib Hezbollah militia group and on Thursday, the country’s Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the US was prepared to deploy more troops to Iraq.

Following the airstrikes over the weekend, protesters gathered at the US Embassy in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq on Wednesday but were dispersed after the United States deployed extra troops. With this high risk to security in oil producing Iraq and Iran, prices picked up.

Prices were also supported by reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that US crude inventories fell 7.8 million barrels last week ahead of the weekly U.S. government data due Friday. If this correlates with the expected result, it would signify the largest drop since August.

In addition, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is also expected on Friday, having been delayed by two days by the New Year’s holiday and if this also records drop, oil prices may settle higher next week ahead of the US-China trade deal signing.

The expected signing of the phase one agreement between the two world’s largest economies also supported prices on Thursday as President Donald Trump confirmed last week that both countries will sign the deal on Wednesday, January 15 in the United States’ capital, Washington D.C.

Also, with the new year, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries alliance, OPEC+ deal to reduce oil supply begins as oil producing countries under the group begin the new policy of cutting oil production by 1.7 million barrels till March in order to curb oversupply and help push oil prices.

Banking on this, oil futures are expected to trade higher on Friday as traders will be out to check for indications that OPEC+ production cuts are actually tightening supply, and not being pressured by the rising supply from non-OPEC producers such as Norway, Guyana, and Brazil as expected last year.

Economy

NASD Index Rises 0.16% on Renewed Investors’ Appetite

Published

58 minutes ago

23/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.16 per cent on Monday, December 22 as investors showed hunger for unlisted stocks.

Trading data showed that the volume of securities traded at the session surged by 532.9 per cent to 12.6 million units from the previous 1.9 million units, as the value of transactions jumped by 64.3 per cent to N713.6 million from N80.3 million, though the number of deals moderated by 13.5 per cent to 32 deals from the 37 deals recorded in the previous trading session.

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

InfraCredit Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with the sale of 1.2 billion units for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 537.0 million units valued at N524.9 million.

The unlisted securities market printed a price loser, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which dropped 20 Kobo to sell at N53.80 per share versus last Friday’s closing price of N54.00 per share.

However, the loss was offset by the trio of NASD Plc, Golden Capital Plc, and UBN Property Plc.

NASD Plc gained N5.00 to close at N60.00 per unit versus N55.00 per unit, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 77 Kobo to N8.45 per share from N7.68 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 22 Kobo to N2.43 per unit from N2.21 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N3.38 billion to N2.125 billion from N2.121 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) grew by 5.65 per cent to 3,552.06 points from 3,546.41 points.

Economy

Nigeria’s Stock Exchange Sustains Bull Run by 0.26%

Published

1 hour ago

23/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bulls remained on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday, rallying by 0.26 per cent at the close of transactions.

This was buoyed by the gains recorded by 34 equities on Nigeria’s stock exchange, which outweighed the losses posted by 20 equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Aluminium Extrusion gained 9.72 per cent to quote at N13.55, International Energy Insurance improved by 9.69 per cent to N2.49, Mecure Industries rose by 9.64 per cent to N60.30, Royal Exchange expanded by 9.60 per cent to N1.94, and Austin Laz grew by 9.50 per cent to N2.65.

On the flip side, Custodian Investment depleted by 10.00 per cent to N35.10, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N3.15, Prestige Assurance weakened by 7.41 per cent to N1.50, and Guinea Insurance slipped by 7.38 per cent to N1.13.

During the session, investors traded 451.5 million shares worth N13.0 billion in 33,327 deals compared with the 1.5 billion shares valued at N21.8 billion transacted in 25,667 deals in the preceding session, showing spike in the number of deals by 29.84 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and value by 69.90 per cent and 40.37 per cent apiece.

The first trading session of the Christmas week had Tantalizers as the most active with 50.2 million units sold for N127.5 million, First Holdco transacted 32.6 million units worth N1.5 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 27.3 million units valued at N562.3 million, Custodian Investment traded 22.1 million units for N857.8 million, and Chams transacted 21.3 million units valued at N71.1 million.

When the closing gong was struck at 2:30 pm to end trading activities, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 401.69 points to 152,459.07 points from 152,057.38 points and the market capitalisation went up by N256 billion to N97.193 trillion from N96.937 trillion.

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,456/$1 at Official FX Market

Published

2 hours ago

23/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week stronger against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N7.93 or 0.54 per cent on Monday, December 22, trading at N1,456.56/$1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,464.49/$1.

The local currency also appreciated against the Euro in the same market window yesterday by N4.04 to close at N1,710.59/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,714.63/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 3 Kobo to finish at N1,957.33/£1 compared with the previous session’s N1,957.30/£1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian Naira lost N3 against the greenback during the session to end at N1,470/$1 versus N1,467/$1 and remained unchanged in the parallel market at N1,485/$1.

Despite the market facing seasonal pressure, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. The lender sold $150 million to authorised dealers and banks to absorb pressures from increasing demand for Dollar.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) reserves have recorded the first decline in 25 weeks, falling by $263.151 million to $45.21 billion as of December 17, 2025, according to new data from the apex bank.

This marks a reversal of a long-running accumulation trend that pushed reserves to their highest level in six years. The contraction ended a sustained build-up that had peaked at $45.472 billion on December 12.

As for the cryptocurrency market, the bears dominated, with traders remaining cautious about a significant recovery with the market facing exhaustion.

While the total crypto market capitalization has surpassed $3 trillion, analysts warn that the market outcomes in the next few weeks may be driven by exhaustion rather than renewed confidence.

Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to $1.88, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 1.8 per cent to $2,971.28, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 1.4 per cent to sell at $87,599.57, and Solana (SOL) slumped by 1.1 per cent to $124.89.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 0.9 per cent to close at $76.84, Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 0.7 per cent to $0.1310, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.6 per cent to sell for $852.09, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.1 per cent to $0.3655, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.