Economy

Brent, WTI Down Despite Positive US Job Data, Crude Inventories Drop

Published

2 years ago

22/08/2024

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday despite positive data from the United States outweighed by other headwinds facing the market.

Brent crude futures lost $1.15 or 1.49 to finish at $76.05 per barrel at midweek and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $1.24 or 1.69 per cent to quote at $71.93 per barrel.

US employers added far fewer jobs than originally reported in the year through March, the Labour Department said on Wednesday.

The revised jobs data offset support from a drop in US oil inventories, and recently released minutes from the Federal Reserve indicating a likely September rate cut.

US crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fell in the week ending August 16, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels to 426 million barrels in the week, the EIA said.On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported another unexpected inventory increase, but a moderate one, at 347,000 barrels.

In fuels, the EIA also estimated draws in inventories.

Gasoline (petrol) inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels over the week to August 16, which compared with a draw of 2.9 million barrels for the previous week.

Gasoline production averaged 9.8 million barrels daily last week, which compared with 9.7 million barrels daily for the previous week.

In middle distillates, the authority reported an inventory draw of 3.3 million barrels for the week to August 16, which compared with a draw of 1.7 million barrels for the previous week.

Middle distillate production last week averaged 4.9 million barrels daily, which compared with 4.8 million barrels daily for te previous week.

Reuters reported that the Federal Reserves appear to be leaning toward an interest rate cut at their September policy meeting, and several would have been willing to reduce borrowing costs immediately, according to the minutes of the July 30-31 gathering.

Higher interest rates increase the cost of borrowing, which can slow economic activity and dampen demand for oil.

Meanwhile, hopes of a ceasefire in the Middle East also weighed on oil prices as they reduced the risk of a supply disruption, and the perception of weak Chinese demand remained stable.

Iran-aligned Houthi militants have continued to launch attacks on international shipping near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The latest was a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea on Wednesday facing repeated attacks that started a fire on the vessel and caused the ship to lose power. The Red Sea leading to the Suez Canal is a key shipping route for oil, and sustained attacks pose a potential threat to global crude flows.

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Adedapo Adesanya

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.

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Economy

Nigerian Stocks Chalk up 0.08% on Bullish Sentiment

Published

5 hours ago

07/03/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note, as it rallied by 0.08 per cent on Friday.

This was buoyed by strong investor sentiment due to renewed buying pressure, which left 35 stocks on the gainers’ chart, as 33 stocks ended on the losers’ log, indicating a positive market breadth index.

According to data, Eterna gained 10.00 per cent to close at N42.35, Union Dicon appreciated by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, John Holt grew by 9.25 per cent to N9.45, Tantalizers rose by 8.41 per cent to N4.64, and Fidson expanded by 7.27 per cent to N88.50.

Conversely, RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N12.06, SCOA Nigeria retreated by 9.96 per cent to N34.35, ABC Transport receded by 9.96 per cent to N6.25, Mecure crashed by 9.96 per cent to N61.50, and Berger Paints declined by 9.93 per cent to N66.65.

Business Post observed that the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.20 per cent yesterday, while the energy index improved by 0.19 per cent.

However, the insurance counter fell by 0.61 per cent, the consumer goods segment shed 0.56 per cent, and the banking industry depreciated by 0.11 per cent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 161.00 points on Friday to 196,968.15 points from 196,807.15 points on Thursday, while the market capitalisation went down by N119 billion to N126.437 trillion from N126.318 trillion.

A total of 586.2 million units of shares worth N30.6 billion were transacted in 62,699 deals during the trading day versus the 634.0 million shares valued at N29.1 billion traded in 66,286 deals a day earlier, showing a jump in the trading value by 5.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 7.54 per cent and 5.41 per cent, respectively.

The activity chart was led by First Holdco with 43.9 million units worth N2.3 billion, Access Holdings exchange 43.2 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 40.0 million units for N3.7 billion, GTCO sold 38.9 million units worth N4.6 billion, and Jaiz Bank traded 31.5 million units valued at N323.4 million.

Economy

Five Price Gainers Lift NASD Index by 0.22% as Market Cap Adds N5.6bn

Published

5 hours ago

07/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went up by 0.22 per cent on Friday, March 6, as a result of the rise in the share prices of five securities on the platform.

During the session, the market capitalisation of the bourse added N5.60 billion to close at N2.519 trillion versus the preceding session’s N2.513 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) appreciated by 9.35 points to 4,256.41 points from 4,256.41 points.

The five price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which gained N29.02 to close at N319.25 per unit versus Thursday’s closing value of N290.23 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.19 to N81.35 per share from N80.16 per share, Nipco Plc increased by N1.00 to N285.00 per unit from N284.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by 72 Kobo to N125.20 per share from N124.48 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 19 Kobo to N2.17 per unit from N1.98 per unit.

On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc lost N20.00 to settle at N230.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N250.00 per share, NASD Plc declined by N5.21 to N51.00 per unit from N56.21 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc declined by 21 Kobo to N1.90 per share from N2.11 per share.

The volume of securities traded by market participants went down by 10.6 per cent yesterday to 3.4 million units from 3.8 million units, and the value of securities dropped 85.3 per cent to close at N62.4 million versus N423.3 million, while the number of deals jumped 4.8 per cent to 44 deals from 42 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 37.2 million units valued at N2.3 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N506.8 million.

Resourcery Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units traded for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 123.1 million units transacted for N481.6 million, and CSCS Plc with 37.2 million units worth N2.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Loses N5.82 at NAFEX to Sell N1,393/$1

Published

6 hours ago

07/03/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

For another week, the Naira closed without recording a gain against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), as FX demand pressure continues to mount.

On Friday, the country’s legal tender further depreciated against the greenback by N5.82 or 0.42 per cent to trade at N1,393.26/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,387.45/$1.

Also, the local currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market segment yesterday by N7.61 to close at N1,859.99/£1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,852.38/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N1.58 to settle at N1,611.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,609.86/€1 it was traded a day earlier.

In the same vein, the Naira declined against the Dollar at the GTBank forex desk by N12 during the session to quote at N1,410/$1 versus the previous session’s rate of N1,398/$1, and at the parallel market, it lost N10 to sell for N1,415/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,405/$1.

The domestic currency continued its decline despite $300 million in FX intervention sales to banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), indicating that the rising demand for foreign payments is outpacing supply. However, worries have heightened as the Naira is entering a threshold that has not previously created panic.

In the international market, the US Dollar held broadly steady and saw its steepest weekly gain in more than a year as the escalating conflict in the Middle East drove demand for safe-haven assets. This creates pressure on other currencies.

This also affected the cryptocurrency market. As tensions escalated in the Middle East last week, investors moved quickly to the safety of the US Dollar, which strengthened as markets began pricing in higher energy prices and reignited inflation fears, potentially delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1,975.54, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $84.08, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 4.3 per cent to sell for $67,725.27, Cardano (ADA) slumped 4.2 per cent to $0.2527, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.4 per cent to $53.55.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.2 per cent to $0.0906, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped 2.9 per cent to $626.32, and Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.6 per cent to $1.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.