Economy

Brent Slips to $42 on COVID-19 Spread Fears

Published

6 years ago

14/11/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

Brent crude returned to the $42 mark on Friday as the oil futures depreciated on the back of the ongoing spread of coronavirus, which has dampened the demand outlook, by extension the mood of the market.

Brent, against which most countries price their crude, moved down by 1.86 per cent or 82 cents to sell at $42.71 per barrel, while the United States’ futures, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, made a 2.41 per cent or 99 cents slide to $40.31 per barrel.

Depressed prices came on the back of a surge in European coronavirus cases with several countries in partial lockdowns and many hoping that restrictions will begin to have an effect as intensive care units fill up.

Countries like Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Poland, Austria and France have experienced spikes while Italy has recorded more than 30,000 new daily cases on three occasions in the last few days, and currently has close to 800,000. Its death toll is the second highest in Europe after the United Kingdom at more than 40,000.

There are also a growing number of cases in the US, Japan and South Korea, all of which are major oil consumers.

Further adding to the negative outcome was the downward review of demand outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this week.

The Paris-based IEA cut its 2020 global oil demand forecast and now expects world oil demand to contract by 8.8 million barrels per day this year.

The agency further added that it does not expect the prospect of a coronavirus vaccine to significantly boost demand until well into next year. For 2021, the IEA said world oil demand growth will rise by 5.8 million barrels per day, representing an upward revision of 300,000 barrels per day from last month.

For yet another month, OPEC revised down its expectations for global oil demand as the renewed spike in coronavirus cases in major economies is slowing down the oil demand recovery.

In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), the cartel cut its global oil demand forecast for this year by 300,000 barrels per day compared to last month’s estimate and now sees global oil demand at slightly above 90.0 million barrels per day this year, down by 9.8 million bpd compared to 2019.

The main reasons for the expected even lower demand for this year are the recent new lockdowns and curfews in many major European economies as well as weaker-than-expected demand in the developed economies in the Americas in the third quarter of 2020.

The weaker oil demand recovery is expected to continue into 2021, according to OPEC, which cut its estimate for global oil demand next year, too. In 2021, oil demand is expected to grow by 6.2 million barrels per day compared to 2020. This is a downward revision of 300,000 barrels per day compared to OPEC’s October forecast.

Next year, total global demand is expected to reach 96.3 million barrels per day, still lower than the demand before the pandemic.

At the same time, supply is rising as Libya opens the taps. The country’s production rose to 1.145 million barrels a day on Friday, according to a spokesman for its state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC)

However, the silver lining still remains as vaccines may roll out soon following announcement from Pfizer and BioNTech earlier in the week. This indicates that there are hopes that a safe and effective vaccine would help bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 53.1 million and claimed over 1.3 million lives.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.

During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.

Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.

As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.

During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

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

Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.

The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.

The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.

Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.

The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.

Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.

However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.

Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.