Economy
CBN Seeks Partnership With Statisticians
By Dipo Olowookere
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has called on Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA) to work closely with it so as to assist in the areas of research and data collation.
The Director of Statistics at the CBN, Dr Mohammed Tumala, explained that this will help the apex bank understand the country better for policy making.
Dr Tumala, who made this known on Wednesday in Lagos at the association’s 1st International Conference themed ‘Positioning National Statistical System for Data Revolution and Inclusive Development,’ also called on government institutions to understand and acknowledge the importance of statistics towards the attainment of national development, stressing that all hands must be on deck to accord the profession its rightful recognition.
He said with the right statistics in place, government can plan very well and also provide infrastructure across the country.
Also speaking at the event, Mr Michel Mouyelo Katoula, in his lecture titled ‘How Useful are our Statistics to Government at all levels and the Ordinary Citizens,’ stated that statistics is a vital source of evidence that helps provide clear objectives on critical aspects of a country life, population, economic performance, health, poverty and well-being.
He noted that data is significant from the smallest unit to all levels of government for proper and accurate planning in matters that affect the lives of the masses.
He emphasized that “Data is just not the collation of numbers but it is consciousness. What we decide with today’s data will create tomorrow’s wealth, future and our consciousness and it is central to communication, research and design.”
Mr Katoula opined that data should be used to heal our communities, to understand our sociological and behavioural patterns and to ensure social justice and survival.
On his part, Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, noted that data collation and analysis were key to good planning in other to achieve all inclusive governance.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 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 traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira gained N4.80 or 0.35 per cent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, July 21, to trade at N1,375.31/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s N1,380.11/$1.
Also, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N16.22 to quote at N1,857.35/£1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,854.42/£1, and improved against the Euro by N8.17 to settle at N1,567.78/€1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,575.95/€1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency strengthened against the US Dollar by N1 at the GTBank FX counter during the session to exchange at N1,388/$1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N1,389/$1, and maintained stability in the parallel market at N1,405/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover increased sharply by more than 21 per cent to $322.644 million from $266.227 million the previous day.
Interbank FX deal count also climbed to 110, from 66, as banks bid for international payments on behalf of their corporate clients increased.
Latest data from the CBN revealed external reserves topped $52 billion due to sustained FX inflows across multiple sources, including hydrocarbon sales receipts. Gross external reserves surged to $52.024 billion from $51.942 billion.
Also, the central bank retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), the country’s benchmark interest rate, at 26.5 per cent as it seeks to sustain the gradual decline in inflation while shielding the economy from growing global uncertainties.
In the crypto market, benchmarked tokens fell after traders took profit, following rallies driven by a semiconductor boon which has driven crypto all month while the Japanese yen sank to its weakest level in four decades.
Bitcoin (BTC) came in flat at $65,885.77, but Cardano (ADA) slumped by 3.1 per cent to $0.1706, Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to sell at $77.12, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 1.5 per cent to trade at $567.38, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 1.1 per cent to $0.0723, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1,916.21, and Ripple (XRP) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $1.13, while TRON (TRX) gained 0.7 per cent to close at $0.3286, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The presence of the bulls further strengthened the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, as the performance indices further gained 0.19 per cent.
The nation’s stock market survived profit-taking witnessed in the banking sector during the session, which crashed its index by 0.02 per cent.
This loss was offset by the gains recorded by the other sectors, with the insurance segment chalking up 0.49 per cent. The consumer goods space appreciated by 0.47 per cent, the industrial goods counter expanded by 0.04 per cent, and the energy sector rose by 0.03 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was elevated by 475.60 points to 246,659.56 points from 246,183.96 points, and the market capitalisation improved by N307 billion to N159.119 trillion from N158.812 trillion.
The market breadth index was positive yesterday after the bourse finished with 34 price gainers and 22 price losers, implying strong investor sentiment.
UPDC REIT grew by 9.86 per cent to N11.70, Thomas Wyatt advanced by 9.73 per cent to N3.72, Ikeja Hotel climbed 9.53 per cent to N46.55, The Initiates went up by 9.52 per cent to N33.95, and Neimeth increased by 9.47 per cent to N9.25.
Conversely, Mecure depreciated by 9.95 per cent to N76.95, Haldane McCall dropped 9.86 per cent to trade at N3.29, CMFC declined by 9.85 per cent to N3.02, Trans-Nationwide Express lost 9.68 per cent to close at N2.80, and Academy Press shrank by 9.38 per cent to N5.80.
The activity level was mixed during the session, as investors traded 932.5 million equities worth N49.3 billion in 50,059 deals versus the 851.6 million equities valued at N49.6 billion transacted in 56,873 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the trading volume soared by 9.50 per cent, the trading value moderated by 0.61 per cent, and the number of deals retreated by 11.98 per cent.
The busiest equity for the day was Access Holdings, which sold 336.6 million units for N8.7 billion. FCMB exchanged 88.8 million units worth N1.0 billion, First Holdco transacted 72.7 million units valued at N7.7 billion, Zenith Bank traded 37.4 million units for N4.4 billion, and UBA transacted 32.1 million units worth N1.5 billion.
