Economy
Crude Oil Prices Soar 4% as Iran-Israel Conflict Escalates
By Adedapo Adesanya
The prices of the crude oil grades climbed over 4 per cent on Tuesday as the Iran-Israel conflict heightened, raising worries even though major oil and gas infrastructure and flows have not been affected.
Brent crude futures settled at $76.45 a barrel after it gained $3.22 or 4.4 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate crude future finished at $74.84 a barrel, up by $3.07 or 4.28 per cent.
The continuing exchange of airstrikes between Israel and Iran returned geopolitical risk to oil markets already aware of a tight supply and demand balance.
Traders are also weighing the possibility of a US strike on Iran, which has intensified since Israel began its attacks last week as some believe that the US possesses weapons capable of destroying Iranian enrichment facilities buried deep underground.
Also, a collision of two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, where electronic interference has increased during the conflict, highlighted the possibility that the vital waterway for oil shipments could be cut off.
However, market analysts say that there is little possibility of closing the waterway, given that Iran would lose revenue and the US wants lower oil prices and lower inflation.
Despite the potential for disruption, there were signs oil supplies remain ample amid expectations of lower demand.
Israel’s assault on Iran’s military leadership and nuclear facilities poses the greatest threat in decades to the Islamic Republic’s leadership. The regime has endured “blow after blow” since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October 2023, The New York Times wrote, including the weakening of its proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen.
In its monthly oil report on Tuesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) revised its world oil demand estimate downwards by 20,000 barrels per day from last month’s forecast and increased the supply estimate by 200,000 barrels per day to 1.8 million barrels per day.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US fell sharply, by 10.133 million barrels in the week ending June 13. The API reported a 337,000 barrel inventory decrease in the prior week.
So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 7.6 million barrels.
Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be released later on Wednesday.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 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 sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
