By Adedapo Adesanya

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc brought down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.38 per cent on Monday, December 30 after its value shrank by N2.84 to quote at N41.00 per unit, in contrast to the preceding trading day’s N43.84 per unit.

However, UBN Property Plc gained 18 Kobo during the session to trade at N1.98 per share compared with last Friday’s value of N1.80 per share and Food Concepts Plc expanded by 2 Kobo to close at N1.60 per unit compared with the previous trading day’s price of N1.58 per unit.

When the trading day closed yesterday, the market capitalisation declined by N4.00 billion to finish at N1.036 trillion compared with last Friday’s closing value of N1.040 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) recorded a slide of 11.68 points to end the day at 3,023.93 points as against 3,035.61 points recorded at the previous session.

During the session, the volume of securities traded at the bourse went down by 63.9 per cent to 2.7 million units from the 7.5 million units recorded at the last session.

Equally, the day’s trading data showed that the total value of shares transacted by the market participants decreased by 71.7 per cent to N14.7 million from the N51.7 million achieved in the previous trading day.

In the same vein, the number of deals carried out on the first session of the week depleted by 31.3 per cent to 22 deals from the 32 deals executed in the preceding trading session.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units worth N4.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.4 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.7 million units sold for N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units valued at N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.4 million units sold for N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.7 million units worth N5.3 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last but one trading session of 2024 in the local currency market ended on a wrong note for the Naira on Monday as its value depreciated against the United States Dollar at different segments.

Data showed that the value of the local currency weakened against the greenback yesterday by N2.00 or 0.16 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window to close at N1,540.50/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing rate of N1,538.50/$1.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading session by N4.01 to trade at N1,930.21/£1 compared with the preceding trading day’s N1,934.22/£1 and against the Euro, it improved its value by N7.38 to sell for N1,598.09/€1 versus last Friday’s N1,605.47/€1.

But in the black market segment, the Nigerian currency weakened against its American counterpart on Monday by N10 to sell for N1,650/$1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s rate of N1,640/$1.

In its latest assessment, credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, warned that a larger-than-expected budget deficit in 2025 could lead to further Naira depreciation.

It warned that missing the fiscal deficit target could heighten pressure on the exchange rate, adding that while the introduction of an electronic FX matching platform on December 2, 2024, is a step towards greater transparency, progress in addressing FX challenges has been slower than anticipated.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices experienced a rocky outcome due to poor US macroeconomic data and rampant profit-taking, with Bitcoin (BTC) shedding 0.99 per cent to sell at $92,704.80.

Litecoin (LTC) slid by 3.3 per cent to $98.38, Cardano (ADA) went down by 3.2 per cent to $0.8424, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.6 per cent to $0.3115, Ripple (XRP) lost 2.2 per cent to quote at $2.03, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.9 per cent to finish at $3,352.23, and Solana (SOL) slumped by 1.4 per cent to $189.30.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.11 per cent to $698.69, US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 per cent to close at $0.9986, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil prices went up on Monday as investors bet on a temperature drop across the United States and Europe over the coming weeks to boost diesel demand.

Brent crude futures jumped by 22 cents or 0.3 per cent to settle at $74.39 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 39 cents or 0.6 per cent to trade at $70.99 a barrel.

Reuters reported that concerns about colder weather in the weeks ahead are boosting diesel as a substitute for natural gas in space heating.

Heating degree days, a measure of energy demand for space heating, are expected to rise to 499 over the next two weeks in the US, compared with 399 estimated on Friday.

There is also anticipation that the weather will be colder in Europe in February 2025.

Further support for oil prices could come from declining US crude stockpiles, which are expected to have fallen by about 3 million barrels last week.

Last week, prices were buoyed by a larger-than-expected drawdown from US crude inventories in the week ended December 20 as refiners ramped up activity and the holiday season boosted fuel demand.

Investors are also waiting for China’s PMI factory surveys, due on Tuesday, followed by the US ISM survey on Friday, to gauge the economic health of the top oil-consuming nations.

Market analysts warned that China, the world’s largest oil importer, faces a weaker economy which could lead to oversupply in oil markets next year.

This happens as Chinese authorities issued over 152 million metric tons of crude oil import quotas to independent refiners to be able to get enough for their refineries.

The Asian country has seen lacklustre oil demand and crude imports in 2024 amid a weaker-than-expected economy and faltering demand for road transportation fuels.

Chinese authorities have agreed to issue a record 3 trillion Yuan ($411 billion) in special treasury bonds in 2025 to revive economic growth.

Oil market participants are also speculating that US President-elect Donald Trump will cut Iranian crude oil exports to below 500,000 barrels per day through sanctions, taking over 1 million barrels of daily crude oil supply off the global market.