Economy
Expectations from Oil Prices This Year
By Adedapo Adesanya
Expectations for global crude oil prices in 2021 swing between hope for effective vaccines against COVID-19 and concerns over uncertain oil demand with a second wave of rising infections around the world.
Last year, Brent crude, the international benchmark crude, dropped as low as $16 per barrel while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude in April plunged below zero for the first time in history, due to coronavirus-related lockdowns and relevant declining oil demand.
The price dispute between the world’s second-largest oil producer Saudi Arabia, a leading member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and non-OPEC producing countries led by Russia, greatly contributed to the oil price collapse in March – April 2020
But oil demand gradually rebounded and so did oil prices in the second half of 2020 as the global crude market rationalised supply while business activities resumed in many economies amid preventive measures against the virus.
On the last day of 2020, Brent crude closed at $51.80 dollars while WTI closed at $48.52 per barrel.
In 2021, Brent prices are set to average $50.67 a barrel while the US benchmark is expected to average $47.45 a barrel. Despite expectations about oil demand, recovery is anticipated to remain lower than it was before the pandemic.
It is widely believed that vaccination against the virus will revive optimism about global economic recovery as well as oil demand and prices. If the vaccines are soon widely available and effective, demand is expected to start rising in the second quarter of 2021.
However with the current second wave of COVID-19, with its soaring infections across the world, this is likely to cap oil price gains in the early months of the year and further bring uncertainty about oil demand throughout the New Year.
On the vaccine front, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently granted emergency validation to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was also authorised by the European Union.
Britain authorised the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use, and China approved its Sinopharm vaccine that was also approved in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and recently Egypt. Dozens of other vaccines are currently being tested on humans and animals.
In light of the hopeful indications, OPEC and OPEC+ countries decided in a ministerial meeting in early December to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day as of January.
The group’s meeting will be held every month in 2021 to assess market conditions and needs and decide an adjustable monthly production accordingly. The first of the year will hold today via videoconference.
Despite renewed fears about oil demand due to the new coronavirus strain, Russia is reportedly still in favour of another 500,000 barrels per day increase in the alliance’s oil production from February.
OPEC yesterday noted that crude demand is expected to rise by 5.9 million barrels per day to 95.9 million barrels per day this year. The group also sees plenty of downside demand risks in the first half of 2021.
Currently, oil prices are trading up with Brent trading at $52.56 per barrel while WTI is near $49 per barrel.
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.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
