Economy
Elevated Crude Inventories Weaken Oil Prices
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices eased on Wednesday after government data showed crude stockpiles in the United States rose unexpectedly last week, prompting investor concerns of excess supplies.
Brent crude futures lost 54 cents or 0.81 per cent to sell for $66.09 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped by 52 cents or 0.82 per cent to $63.15 a barrel.
According to new data from the US Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday, US crude oil inventories saw an increase of 4 million barrels to 441.8 million barrels during the week ending May 9.
Crude oil prices were trading down before the crude data release by the US Energy Information Administration. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise build in US crude oil inventories of 4.287 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories with draws in gasoline and distillate stocks.
More worries came as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) have started increasing supply to the market.
However, in the last month, combined crude oil production from the 22-member group dropped by 106,000 barrels per day in April compared to March, despite the pledge of the eight OPEC+ producers who are withholding supply to begin easing their cuts.
OPEC+ producers Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman decided to begin raising production in April, for the first time since 2022.
The figures in OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published today suggest that the eight OPEC+ producers added fewer than 30,000 barrels per day to their collective supply in April, versus plans to add 138,000 barrels per day.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s top producer and leader of the OPEC+ pact, raised its production by 49,000 barrels per day compared to March and pumped 9 million barrels per day in April, according to OPEC’s secondary sources.
Declines in the sanctioned Iran and Venezuela, as well as in Nigeria, which frequently faces force majeure circumstances, offset the Saudi hike.
Total OPEC production (excluding allies) dropped by 62,000 barrels per day in April compared to March.
OPEC trimmed its forecast for growth in oil supply from the US and other producers outside the wider OPEC+ group this year.
It said output will rise by about 800,000 barrels per day in 2025, OPEC said in a monthly report, down from last month’s forecast of 900,000 barrels per day.
Also, a stronger the US Dollar weighed on prices on Wednesday. A stronger greenback makes oil traded in the American currency more expensive for investors holding other currencies, hurting demand.
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.
