Economy
Easing of Oil Output Cuts to Sway Market This Week
By Adedapo Adesanya
Last week, prices of both the Brent crude and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude initially dropped on oil demand recovery worries but eventually turned around to show signs of resilience yet again.
Following this positive outcome at the oil market, things could be very difficult for the market this week as one of the major factors that have lifted prices may be eased.
The production cuts from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+), which just did not only remove crude oil from an oversaturated market but eventually helped to boost prices, may start tapering to allow for an increase in production to allow countries fight for market share.
When the cabal started cutting outputs in May, the agreement was to reduce almost 10 per cent or 9.7 million barrels daily for two months including June. However, there was an extension to this to July.
However, analysts note that this may not extend into August with cuts expected to taper to 7.7 million barrels per day through December. According to Wall Street Journal sources, the countries are planning to relax the curbs by 2 million barrels a day to 7.7 million.
The report said that Saudi Arabia was worried as continued support will be dangerous, especially as non-OPEC members attempt to gain market share.
The report came two days after the Energy Information Administration (IEA) said that the worst effects of coronavirus on oil demand had passed but will continue to echo as the market recovers.
The group will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday to discuss and recommend the next line of action.
In its monthly global energy report, the IEA predicted a slight improvement in global demand for crude oil this year.
However, it also cautioned that much still depends on how the pandemic develops.
The IEA report also noted that the resurgence of cases in some parts of the world, including the US and Latin America, was casting a shadow over the outlook and threatened to derail a recovery in demand.
“The recent increase in COVID-19 cases and the introduction of partial lockdowns introduces more uncertainty to the forecast,” it said.
The number of new COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the major producing country, the US, as the state of Florida soared by 15,299 cases on Saturday. This set the record for the highest COVID-19 cases in the country in a single day for any US state.
The rising number of cases impairs economic recovery and oil demand in the world’s largest oil-consuming nation and curtails crude prices.
On the supply side, more risks of additions to the supply glut have arisen with Libya’s preparations to restart oil production and exports, which also poses a threat to the oil price recovery.
The number of oil rigs in the US, an indicator of short-term production in the country, fell by 4 to 181 for the week ending July 10, from 185 the previous week, according to the latest data. Over the past 17 weeks, the decline in the oil rig count totalled 502, the data showed.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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