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Economy

Brent Moves Above $57 as Chinese Refiners Increase Demand 

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brent crude oil

By Adedapo Adesanya 

Despite demand worries still affecting prices, Brent crude went above $57 per barrel on Friday as investors regained interest in trading amid the economic impact of the coronavirus, which some observers have said would be a thing of the past.

On Friday night, the Brent Crude gained 89 cents or 1.58 percent to trade at $57.23 per barrel, while the WTI crude rose by 59 cents equivalent to 1.15 percent to sell at $52.01 per barrel.

Traders comprising independent refiners went on a buying spree on Friday. For instance, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Company bought as many as seven cargoes from Russia, Angola and Gabon for March and April, while Sinochem Hongrun Petrochemical Company bought a shipment from Gabon, according to what Business Post gathered from Bloomberg News.

Also, the activities of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, following deliberations last week to extend oil cut up by 600,000 barrels per day to 2.3 million barrels per day till June 2020, contributed to the gains yesterday.

Even though Russia wasn’t excited in extending cuts, analysts say they might have no choice but to eventually agree to further curb production in response to the demand fears brought about by the spread of COVID-19 in China.

However, since the meeting which wrapped up last week, nothing has yet been confirmed or approved from Russia ahead of the next meeting in Vienna on March 5-6.

Latest reports from China on Friday said 121 more people had died from COVID-19, over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,381.

The country’s National Health Commission also reported that 5,090 new confirmed cases were in mainland China, bringing the total to 63,851. The number of new cases jumped sharply on Thursday after a change in the government’s counting method.

With continuous effect of the virus on oil demand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that first-quarter oil demand for 2020 was set to fall compared with 2019 for the first time since the financial crisis in 2009 because of the outbreak.

According to the agency in its monthly oil market report released on Thursday, demand is now expected to fall by 435,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2020, down from the same period a year ago as 825,000 barrels a day will be expected in Q1.

The consequences of the new coronavirus, known now as Covid-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be significant for global oil demand, oil prices and producers, the IEA said in its report.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

FG, States, LGs Share N1.928trn From November 2025 Revenue

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FAAC disburses

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government, states and the Local Government Councils have received a sum of N1.928 trillion from the revenue generated in November 2025 by the federation.

According to a statement by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the earnings were shared at the December 2025 FAAC meeting held in Abuja, where the total distributable revenue comprised statutory revenue of N1.403 trillion, Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N485.838 billion, and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N39.646 billion.

It was disclosed that total gross revenue of N2.343 trillion was available in the month of November 2025, with N84.251 billion deducted for cost of collection and N330.625 billion for total transfers, interventions, refunds and savings.

FAAC stated that gross statutory revenue of N1.736 trillion was received for the month of November 2025, lower than the N2.164 trillion received in the month of October 2025 by N427.969 billion.

Gross revenue of N563. 042 billion was available from VAT in November 2025, lower than the N719.827 billion available in the month of October 2025 by N156.785 billion.

In November 2025, Excise Duty increased moderately while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), CIT on Upstream Activities, Companies Income Tax (CIT), CGT and SDT, Oil & Gas Royalties, Import Duty, CET Levies, Value Added Tax (VAT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and Fees recorded substantial decreases.

From the N1.928 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government got N747.159 billion, the state governments received N601.731 billion, and the local councils shared N445.266 billion, while N134.355 billion was given to benefiting states as 13 per cent of mineral derivation.

On the N1.403 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the national government received N668.336 billion, the 36 states got N338.989 billion, and the LGAs received N261.346 billion, and N134.355 billion shared as 13 per cent of mineral revenue.

In addition, from the N485.838 billion distributable VAT revenue, the central government got N72.876 billion, the state governments shared N242.919 billion, and the local councils shared N170.043 billion.

Further, N5.947 billion was taken by the federal government from the N39.646 billion EMTL, the states shared N19.823 billion, and the councils received N13.876 billion.

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Economy

Golden Capital, FrieslandCampina Trigger 0.04% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange

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Golden Capital

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of Golden Capital Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.04 per cent on Monday, December 15.

This pulled down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 1.37 points to 3,599.06 points from last Friday’s 3,600.43 points and the market capitalisation lost N820 million to close at N2.153 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.154 trillion.

Golden Capital Plc depleted by 94 Kobo to end at N8.51 per share compared with N9.45 per share and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by 63 Kobo to sell at N59.60 per unit versus N60.23 per unit.

During the session, the volume of securities traded at the session slumped by 98.4 per cent to 600,402 units from 37.4 million units, the value of securities fell by 99.8 per cent to N7.8 million from N4.9 billion, and the number of deals shed 36.4 per cent to 21 deals from 33 deals.

At the close of trades, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

InfraCredit Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with the sale of 1.2 billion units for N420.3 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 537.0 million units traded for N524.9 million.

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Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,451/$1 at Official Market

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week positive as it appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, December 15 by N2.68 or 0.18 per cent to close at N1,451.82/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,454.50/$1.

The local currency also saw a positive movement against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday as it gained N2.17 to close at N1,943.98/£1 compared with last Friday’s N1,946.15/£1 and added 72 Kobo on the Euro to close at N1,705.74/€1 versus the previous session’s closing price of N1,706.46/€1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Naira improved its value against the greenback by N3 to settle at N1,460/$1 versus N1,463/$1 but depreciated in the parallel market by N5 to sell for N1,475/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,470/$1.

The appreciation of the local currency in the other segments came even as foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market declined to $716.3 million from $844.7 million in the preceding week, according to a report by the Coronation Merchant Bank Research Department.

Also, foreign exchange market reforms continue to lead to positive outcomes with Nigeria recording expanding merchandise trade and a steady build-up of its trade surplus in the last six years.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

The bureau stated that the figure represents a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market weakened as investors pulled back ahead of key US economic data extending losses as year-end caution builds.

Broader indicators suggest the market is entering a deeper corrective phase ahead of Tuesday’s November US jobs report, which is expected to show a cooling labour market.

Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 5.9 per cent to $2,941.92, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 5.3 per cent to $1.89, Cardano (ADA) declined by 4.9 per cent to $0.3839, and Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 4.8 per cent to $0.1299.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.9 per cent to $77.63, Solana (SOL) decreased by 3.7 per cent to $127.11, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 3.5 per cent to sell at $86,436.88, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 2.7 per cent to $863.78, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

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