Economy
Brent Returns to $75 on US Inventories Draw, Rising Fuel Demand
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent crude jumped more than 2 per cent or $1.50 to $75.86 per barrel after crude inventories in the United States fell to their lowest levels in three years as refining activity recovered from recent storms.
This development pushed the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) higher by 2.01 per cent or $1.42 to trade at $71.91 per barrel.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported yet another inventory draw of 3.5 million barrels for the week to September 17 compared with a hefty draw of 6.4 million barrels for the previous week and an estimated 6.1 million barrels inventory decline for the week to September 17, as reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API).
The latest inventory movements happened due to the damage Gulf Coast refineries suffered from Hurricane Ida, meaning they do not necessarily reflect any major changes in demand. However, they moved prices due to the size of the inventory change.
This month has witnessed a strong performance for the black gold after extreme weather disrupted US supplies and as a rally in natural gas spurred expectations oil demand may benefit from switching.
Rising prices in other markets like natural gas have also supported oil, with energy market shortages causing a supply crisis in Europe and Asia.
The oil market will continue to monitor development as facilities in the Gulf of Mexico continue to return to production, with weekly output rising 500,000 barrels per day in the most recent week to 10.6 million barrels per day, the EIA said.
Shell BP on Wednesday said all four of its offshore facilities in the region have resumed operations after Hurricane Ida, brought back online and producing as of September 12.
Also supporting prices were difficulties experienced by OPEC members like Nigeria, Angola, and Kazhastan struggling to raise output.
In Asia, China’s central bank injected more short-term cash into the financial system, alleviating some concern over the crisis at China Evergrande Group and cooling-off worries for investors.
The US Federal Reserve, which began a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, is expected to start tightening monetary policy and the market will be on the lookout for the latest interest rate decision which could cut investor tolerance for riskier assets such as oil.
Economy
Champion Breweries Lists Additional Shares on Stock Exchange
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.
Economy
Nigeria’s Finance Minister Rules Out Seeking IMF Loan
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.
Economy
NASD Exchange Depreciates 0.29%
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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