By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N3.32 or 0.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, July 28, to exchange at N1,365.53/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,362.21/$1.

Equally, the local currency went south against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N2.38 to close at N1,816.43/£1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,814.05/£1, and against the Euro, it depleted by N2.69 to trade at N1,552.88/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,550.19/€1.

However, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the GTbank FX desk by N2 during the session to sell for N1,370/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,372/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.

The country’s external reserves declined after the FX injections by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the currency market last week.

Interbank FX turnover rose sharply on the day to $102.954 million on Tuesday, reflecting a 160 per cent surge from $39.587 million recorded during the previous trading session.

Driving the huge US Dollar volume turnover on Tuesday, the apex bank reported that the number of FX deals at the interbank market advanced to 121 from 55.

In the cryptocurrency market, coins were largely insulated despite recent tech stock routs, which suggests its tight correlation with AI-linked equities may be weakening, even as regulatory uncertainty and upcoming Federal Reserve and economic data loom over markets.

There is uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve rate decision due on Wednesday, as most observers expect the bank to keep rates unchanged, while some expect a hike in borrowing costs.

Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 4.5 per cent to $0.1639, Ripple (XRP) grew by 2.6 per cent to $1.08, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.7 per cent to $1,917.05, Bitcoin (BTC) got a 1.4 per cent lift to sell at $64,374.04, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $570.27.

Further, Solana (SOL) improved by 0.8 per cent to $73.93, Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed higher by 0.6 per cent to $0.0707, and TRON (TRX) advanced by 0.3 per cent to $0.3255, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

By Dipo Olowookere

Renewed buying pressure revived the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.50 per cent on Tuesday, reversing the previous day’s loss.

Interest in Nigerian equities slightly rose during the trading day, with the volume of transactions up by 6.10 per cent to 676.9 million units from the preceding session’s 638.0 million units.

However, the value of trades slumped by 36.36 per cent to N36.4 billion from N57.2 billion, and the number of deals decreased by 22.22 per cent to 55,412 deals from Monday’s 71,240 deals.

Access Holdings led the activity chart yesterday, with a turnover of 87.5 million shares worth N2.4 billion. FCMB traded 68.7 million stocks valued at N810.6 million, Chams sold 31.0 million equities for N148.8 million, United Capital transacted 29.7 million shares valued at N537.5 million, and Zenith Bank traded 26.5 million stocks worth N3.4 billion.

On Tuesday, there were 36 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Lasaco Assurance led the advancers’ chart after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to trade at N2.20, Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1.66, Trans-Nationwide Express also gained 9.93 per cent to quote at N3.10, Sunu Assurances rose by 9.88 per cent to N3.56, and CMFC grew by 9.86 per cent to N3.79.

The laggards’ group was led by Meyer, which shrank by 9.97 per cent to N16.70. Mecure slipped by 9.94 per cent to N56.20, ABC Transport crumbled by 9.93 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing crashed by 8.66 per cent to N5.80, and Haldane McCall dipped by 8.21 per cent to N3.02.

Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 745.81 points to 247,984.55 points from 247,238.74 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N482 billion to N159.993 trillion from N159.511 trillion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices dropped about 5 per cent on Tuesday as hopes increased that the pause in fighting ‌between the United States and Iran will lead to talks to end the war.

Brent futures fell by $4.27 or 5.3 per cent to $83.70 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined by $3.35 or 4.4 per cent to $79.26 per barrel.

After dropping about 16 per cent over three days, Brent closed at its lowest since July 13 and WTI at its lowest since July 16.

Although both sides have stopped attacking each other, they remain far from resolving the differences that led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which, before the war, handled the transit of about one-fifth of global oil supplies.

Iran has also denied seeking to resume talks with the US, contradicting claims by US President Donald Trump that “good talks” are underway. Trump has made similar assertions on several occasions, often alongside threats to launch fresh strikes, but Iranian officials have remained firm in rejecting those claims.

According to Reuters, Oman presented Iran with a Gulf-backed proposal to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including the introduction of voluntary transit fees for vessels using the strategic waterway. The proposal was intended to provide a framework for restoring trade through the strait, which was severely disrupted by the conflict.

Iran, however, rejected the Omani plan and proposed to Oman a temporary arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under which one direction of traffic would pass through Iranian waters and part of the opposite route would also be in Iranian waters.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco shut down its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jizan oil refinery in Saudi Arabia on July 27 following an attack by the Houthis on Saturday.

The Houthis have disrupted shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, creating a second chokepoint for oil flows.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is preparing to approve one more production increase for September and then put the monthly quota parade on hold through the end of the year

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, and Oman are expected to raise their combined September target by about 188,000 barrels per day when they meet on August 2, sources told Reuters.

That would match the increases announced for June, July, and August and complete the return of a 1.65-million-bpd voluntary cut agreed in 2023, adjusted for the UAE’s departure from OPEC in May. Then OPEC+ appears ready to stop.