Economy
Crude Oil Down as US-China Escalating Trade War Worries Investors
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil was down by about 3 per cent on Thursday as investors reassessed the planned pause in US tariffs and shifted focus to the escalating trade war between the US and China.
Yesterday, Brent crude futures fell by $2.15 or 3.3 per cent to $63.33 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $2.28 or 3.7 per cent to settle at $60.07 per barrel.
Prices had risen on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump paused the heavy tariffs he had announced against dozens of trading partners a week ago, marking an abrupt U-turn less than 24 hours after the levies took effect.
At the same time, however, President Trump also raised tariffs against China bringing US tariffs on Chinese imports to a total of 145 per cent.
China announced an additional import levy on US goods, imposing an 84 per cent tariff.
Since returning to the White House in January, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute.
The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked markets, including the oil markets.
Higher tariffs against China are likely to prompt lower US crude imports by China, backing up supply and raising US storage levels.
Early signs from Kpler data show that US crude oil exports to China fell to 112,000 barrels per day in March, nearly half of last year’s 190,000 barrels per day.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday lowered its global economic growth forecasts and warned that tariffs could weigh heavily on oil prices, as it slashed its US and global oil demand forecasts for this year and 2026.
The EIA data had showed that US crude stockpiles rose by 2.6 million barrels last week on Wednesday.
There are high expectations that they will be another build this week.
Market analysts noted that the tariff-driven expectation of reduced demand amid the continued possibility of a US recession will remain front and center of trader concerns in likely keeping a lid on near-term price gains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Presco Plc has concluded plans to establish operations in Ogun State as part of efforts to expand its footprint, boost earnings, and deliver more value to shareholders.
The news of the operations was announced by the Governor of Ogun State, Mr Dapo Abiodun, after he received a delegation from the company.
Presco is one of the leading integrated oil palm firms in Nigeria. It is listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The Governor expressed his joy over the decision of Presco to situate its factory in the Gateway State.
He disclosed that the organisation has promised to have an initial investment of about $100 million in Ogun State, noting that this “validates the confidence investors continue to place in our administration’s deliberate policies aimed at creating an enabling business environment.”
According to him, beyond strengthening the state government’s agricultural transformation agenda, the project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, enhance food security, stimulate economic growth, and increase the state’s revenue.
“As we continue to implement our Building Our Future Together agenda, we remain committed to attracting strategic investments that will diversify our economy, create sustainable opportunities for our people, and reinforce Ogun State’s position as Nigeria’s preferred investment destination,” Mr Abiodun stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc led two others to evict the bears from the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Wednesday, July 8.
According to data, the unlisted securities exchange rebounded by 6.84 per cent during the session, thanks to the gains recorded by FrieslandCampina, Food Concepts Plc, and Geo-Fluids Plc.
During the trading day, FrieslandCampina recouped N12.57 to trade at N151.98 per unit versus Tuesday’s closing price of N139.41 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 25 Kobo to N2.76 per share from N2.51 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc expanded by 18 Kobo to N2.55 per unit from N2.37 per unit.
As a result of these accumulations, the market capitalisation added N163.34 billion to close at N2.551 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.387 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) increased by 272.13 points to 4,250.20 points from 3,978.07 points.
The midweek trading data showed that the volume of securities dipped by 50.9 per cent to 158,933 units from 323,780 units, and the value of securities slipped by 31.9 per cent to N10.9 million from the preceding session’s N15.9 million, while the number of deals increased by 6.9 per cent to 31 deals from the previous session’s 29 deals.
When trading activities on the platform ended for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most active 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.7 million units transacted for N4.9 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 exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a bad day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, July 8, as its value further slipped against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, it lost N5 against the US Dollar during the session to trade at N1,400/$1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,395/$1, but closed flat at the GTBank forex counter at N1,381/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the domestic currency depreciated against the greenback yesterday by N3.32 or 0.24 per cent to N1,379.07/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s N1,375.75/$1.
But the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market at midweek by 93 Kobo to 1,840.64/£1 from N1,841.57/£1, and gained N1.31 on the Euro to sell at N1,561.38/€1 compared with Tuesday’s N1,562.69/€1.
The market was liquidity-heavy, but increased demand for foreign payments dragged the exchange rate at the official window,
Traders reported that interbank FX turnover spiked by about 399 per cent on the day to $208.094 million, from $41.736 million the previous day. Also, the number of deals in the interbank market increased sharply to 150 from 47 deals.
FX analysts maintained positive expectations on the Naira outlook in the second half of 2026 despite the absence of interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support liquidity.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices rose as Bitcoin (BTC) held above $62,000, chalking up 0.3 per cent to sell at $$62,754.96, after the US military completed another round of strikes against Iran and both sides raised the prospect of closing the Strait of Hormuz.
The escalation reignited inflation concerns and pulled forward rate expectations. Markets are increasingly treating war-related shocks as interest-rate events, with BTC now tracking front-end Treasury yields more closely than traditional hedges like crude or gold.
Dogecoin (DOGE) improved its value by 1.2 per cent to $0.0728, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.1 per cent to $573.56, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.09, TRON (TRX) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $0.3309, Solana (SOL) grew by 0.2 per cent to $78.34 and Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 0.1 per cent to $1,751.22.
However, Cardano (ADA) decreased by 0.1 per cent to $0.1690, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
