Economy
Brent Hits $50 on Demand, Vaccine Optimism
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of Brent crude oil reached $50 a barrel for the first time since March as strong demand out of Asia and optimism surrounding COVID-19 vaccine progress lifted the outlook for consumption.
This pushed the price of the international benchmark higher by 2.99 per cent or $1.46 to $50.32 per barrel and lifted the United States’ futures, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, by 2.94 per cent or $1.34 to $46.86 per barrel.
In the US, an all-day regulatory meeting was held on Thursday to determine the next step toward the likely authorization of the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech, saw its rollout in the United Kingdom begin earlier this week after regulators in that country authorized it for emergency use.
Canada on Wednesday approved its first vaccine and said initial shots would be delivered starting next week.
It was not just in Asia where demand is recovering. There are also some bright spots in Europe as well. The UK, which emerged from a second lockdown this month, saw road fuel sales jump by almost 10 per cent last week. It was also recorded that fuel use in Brazil has surpassed pre-virus levels.
The bullish outcome of the commodity shrugged off the latest weekly report on US oil inventories which showed a massive 15.2 million barrel rise in crude stocks. Analysts had expected a 1.4 million barrel drop.
It was the second-largest crude inventory build on record, after a 19+ million barrel build earlier this year, in April, according to EIA data.
Oil prices often react negatively to major crude builds, especially when inventories are already high. But due to the positive vaccine news, oil prices found a better landing.
Any positive developments on the vaccine front are expected to lift oil prices.
Another contributing factor to the rising prices was the attacks on two oil wells in the Khabbaz oilfield in Iraq, although the two wells combined produced less than 2,000 barrels per day prior to the attack.
Oil has recovered from historic lows reached in April when the pandemic hammered demand, helped by a record supply-cut deal by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+).
OPEC+ will further ease its supply restrictions in January by adding an extra 500,000 barrels per day although the easing is more gradual than previously agreed, to provide additional support to the market.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Champion Breweries Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular from the NGX Regulation Limited confirmed this development on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
The new stocks of the brewery company came from its hybrid offer comprising rights issue and offer for subscription.
Through the two exercises, Champion Breweries issued fresh 2,375,615,342 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each to subscribers, which were brought to the stock exchange for listing.
Business Post reports that 931,712,324 units arose from the rights issue of 994,221,766 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N16.00 per unit, indicating a subscription rate of 93.71 per cent; and 1,443,903,018 units from the offer for subscription of 2,625,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N16.00 per unit, reflecting a subscription rate of 55.01 per cent.
The listing of the new shares of the organisation has increased the total issued and fully paid-up shares to 11,323,611,234 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 8,947,995,892 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“With this listing of the additional 2,375,615,342 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Champion Breweries Plc have now increased from 8,947,995,892 to 11,323,611,234 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” a part of the circular signed by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, says Nigeria has no immediate plans to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance.
Mr Edun made this known at the African Finance Ministers’ briefing during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings on Thursday in Washington, D.C. United States.
He said reliance on ongoing domestic economic reforms was yielding positive results.
According to him, Nigeria’s reforms over the past two years have restored policy credibility and strengthened resilience against global economic shocks affecting many African economies, adding that the country has prioritised market-based adjustments, avoiding administrative controls, particularly in foreign exchange and petroleum pricing mechanisms.
Mr Edun reaffirmed that Nigeria would continue to rely on internal policy measures rather than seeking multilateral lending support at this time.
However, he urged faster and more coordinated financial assistance for African countries amid discussions on a proposed $50 billion global support package.
The Minister said Nigeria had built buffers through reforms, but noted that several African nations remained highly exposed and required urgent external financial support.
He said Nigeria’s reliance on market mechanisms had enabled smoother economic adjustments, reduced disruptions, and sustained the country’s macroeconomic trajectory amid global uncertainties.
However, on Monday, the |Minister said Nigeria would seek stronger international financial support at this week’s IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings as the Iran war lifts fuel costs at home and complicates reforms.
He said ahead of the meeting that surging crude prices had some clear benefits for the country, which is Africa’s top oil producer, boosting foreign exchange earnings.
“But the shock comes at a critical transition point, intensifying inflationary pressures and raising living costs for households,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.29 per cent on Thursday, April 16, after two securities plunged at the close of business, offsetting the gains recorded by three securities.
According to data, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 11.11 points to close at 3,862.98 points compared with the previous day’s 3,874.09 points, and the market capitalisation shrank by N6.64 billion to close at N2.311 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.317 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N1.36 to trade at N97.64 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N99.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slipped by N1.16 to sell at N58.00 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N59.16 per unit.
However, NASD Plc appreciated by N1.14 to N38.50 per share from N37.36 per share, UBN Property Plc improved its share price by 20 Kobo to close at N2.18 per unit versus N1.98 per unit, and Lighthouse Financials Plc added 6 Kobo to sell at 72 Kobo per share, in contrast to the 66 Kobo per share it was traded at midweek.
Trading data showed that the value of securities surged by 124.9 per cent to N64.9 million from N28.9 million, the volume of securities increased by 18.4 per cent to 597,775 units from 505,075 units, and the number of deals rose by 2.5 per cent to 41 deals from 40 deals.
At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 58.8 million units exchanged for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
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