Economy

Brent Dips to $70 as Triple Whammy Threat Hits Oil Market

Published

5 years ago

05/08/2021

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Brent crude recorded its third consecutive loss on Wednesday by going down by $2.23 or 3.1 per cent to sell at $70 per barrel.

The United States crude benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was also not left out as it depreciated by $2.61 or 3.7 per cent to settle at $67.95 per barrel.

It was observed that the oil market was dampened by a triple whammy surprise build in crude stockpiles and negative economic reports in the United States as well as worries about the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant.

The market, which was already hurting, was hit harder when the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory build of 3.6 million barrels for the week to July 30.

This was higher than what analysts had expected, a 2.9 million barrels draw. At the previous week, the EIA had estimated an inventory draw of 4.1 million barrels.

Earlier, the American Petroleum Institute (API) had estimated a smaller-than-expected draw in crude oil inventories of 879,000 barrels for the week ending July 30.

Apart from this, the market was also faced with worries about soaring COVID as investors focused on the fast-spreading Delta variant which is resurging in China, the US, and many other countries from Europe to Southeast Asia and Australia.

In China, the city of Wuhan, the ground zero for the coronavirus, will test all its 12 million residents which have prompted authorities to impose strict measures to bring the outbreak under control.

In the US, about 40,000 people are currently hospitalized because of COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, same as it was this time last year. However, the death rates have dropped due to vaccines and mitigation efforts.

Globally, cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday, as the more infectious variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates and strained healthcare systems.

The market was also impacted by a sharp slowdown in US job growth as data showed that private payrolls rose by 330,000 jobs, showing the smallest gain in private payrolls in five months in July and far lower than expected.

The latest scare outweighed concerns about supply from the Middle East, where a tanker was reportedly a target of a hijacking attempt off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

On Tuesday, sources claimed Iranian-backed forces seized an oil product tanker off the coast of the UAE. This is the second attack on a tanker since Friday in the region, which includes the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom and the United States blamed Iran for the earlier incident, in which drones crashed into the vessel and killed two sailors.

Economy

NASD OTC Exchange Sustains Uptrend With 0.52% Gain

Published

12 minutes ago

05/05/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange started the new week on an upward trajectory after it closed higher by 0.52 per cent on Monday, May 4.

This raised the market capitalisation by N12.48 billion to N2.409 trillion from last Thursday’s N2.396 trillion, and moved the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) higher by 20.86 points to 4,026.64 points from 4,005.78 points.

The unlisted securities market gained weight yesterday despite recording two price gainers and two price losers.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N8.92 to sell at N98.14 per share versus N89.24 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.12 to N77.14 per unit from N76.02 per unit.

Conversely, NASD Plc lost N3.47 to sell at N31.23 per share compared with the previous price of N34.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc declined by 26 Kobo to settle at N2.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous rate of N2.67 per unit.

During the session, the volume of securities traded by investors fell by 14.4 per cent to 751,518 units from 877,682 units, and the number of deals decreased by 44.1 per cent to 31 deals from 56 deals, while the value of securities climbed 32.8 per cent to N35.4 million from N26.7 million.

The most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis remained Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.2 million units transacted for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units sold for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Gains 0.7% to Trade N1,365/$1 at Official Market

Published

34 minutes ago

05/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week in the green territory in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday after it further appreciated against the US Dollar by N9.71 or 0.7 per cent to quote at N1,365.23/$1 compared with the previous session’s value of N1,374.94/$1.

The scenario was not different with the Pound Sterling at the same market window, where it gained N6.99 to sell for N1,851.25/£1 versus last Thursday’s closing price of N1,858.24/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N8.62 to close at N1,607.58/€1, in contrast to the N1,612.87/€1 it was traded in the previous trading day.

Similarly, at the black market, the Naira improved its value against the greenback yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the previous rate of N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it closed flat at N1,384/$1.

The Nigerian Naira put up a good performance against the Dollar during the session due to sustained monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a steady increase in foreign exchange inflows.

Specifically, stronger diaspora remittances, oil-related inflows, and a decline in speculative demand for the Dollar played pivotal roles in anchoring market expectations.

Sufficient FX liquidity has continued to keep the Naira stable. The local currency stayed strong despite an 83 per cent decline in CBN FX intervention in April to $150 million from $985 million in March.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were mixed as broader crypto markets were diverse and macro risks persisted, amid ongoing US-Iran tensions and steady central bank policy, with upcoming US earnings and jobs data seen as potential catalysts for further bitcoin volatility.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.3 per cent to sell at $80,889.94, Ethereum (ETH) jumped 0.3 per cent to $2,376.40, Cardano (ADA) increased by 0.2 per cent to $0.2529, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3399.

On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid 0.8 per cent to $0.1113, Ripple (XRP) went down by 0.5 per cent to $1.40, Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 0.4 per cent to $626.41, and Solana (SOL) shrank by 0.3 per cent to $84.60, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

Oil Prices Jump 6% as Iran Escalates Attacks in Gulf

Published

48 minutes ago

05/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices jumped about 6 per cent on Monday as Iran stepped up attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ships in the Middle East ‌over the past 24 hours, the most serious escalation since a US-Iran ceasefire came into force in early April.

This pushed the price of Brent futures higher by $6.27 or 5.8 per cent to $114.44 per barrel, and raised the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude by $4.48 or 4.4 per cent to $106.42 a barrel.

Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the US Navy to free up shipping provoked the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared last month.

The UAE said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats on ⁠Monday evening as firefighters battled a blaze at a major oil industry zone.

The US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran as it sought to thwart a new US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 per cent of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the strait before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy (IGRC) issued a map that it said was expanding the areas controlled by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of an incident involving ⁠a cargo vessel about 36 nautical miles north of Dubai. The UKMTO also reported a separate incident earlier in the day near the UAE.

Oil executives from the Gulf and ⁠global oil traders have said that even when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz reopens, it will take several weeks, if not months, for flows to normalise.

Separately, the energy minister in the UAE, which left the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week, said the country owes it to its investment partners to produce what global oil markets require ⁠without restrictions, while cooperating with other crude producers.

OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, said they would raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June for seven members, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.

The seven members who met on Sunday were Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Oman. With the UAE leaving, OPEC+ includes 21 members, including Iran. However, in recent years, only the seven nations plus the UAE have been involved in monthly production decisions.