Economy
FX Liquidity Squeeze Shrinks Naira to N1,670/$1 at Official Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira suffered a loss against the United States Dollar in the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday amid a shortage in FX supply as seasonal demand grows.
Yesterday, the value of the local currency depreciated against the greenback by 4.4 per cent or N70.65 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to exchange at N1,670.65/$1 compared with last Friday’s rate of N1,600.00/$1.
The domestic currency has seen volatile levels this year as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not constantly sold FX to authorised dealers. In the last two months, the apex bank has erratically supplied FX sales to the market and this lack of injection, coupled with high seasonal demand, is putting pressure on the market.
To tackle the challenges associated with the FX risks, the CBN and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed an agreement on Monday to facilitate local-currency financing, hoping to boost demand for Naira while helping firms to avoid the exchange-rate risk of borrowing in foreign currencies.
The value of forex transactions during the trading day stood at $81.17 million, 71.5 per cent or $203.76 million lower than the $284.93 million recorded in the last trading session.
However, the Nigerian currency gained against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Monday by N4.58 to sell at N2,127.71/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,132.29/£1 and against the Euro, it improved its value by N5.95 to finish at N1,774.13/€1 versus N1,768.18/€1.
A look at the black market showed that the Naira weakened further on the first trading day of the week by N10 to quote at N1,740/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,730/$1.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) briefly touched the $70,000 mark for the first time since June on Monday, but it later settled at $69,847.70 after just chalking up 2.6 per cent.
The boost came on the back of a fresh rate-cutting cycle from the major Western central banks, combined with sizable monetary and fiscal stimulus from China, which may or may not have been the key catalysts for this latest bull move.
Also possibly at play are renewed large inflows into US-based spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the surge in prediction markets for crypto-friendly GOP candidate Donald Trump’s presidential election chances.
Dogecoin (DOGE) soared by 10.8 per cent to $0.1576, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 2.1 per cent to $2,565.29, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 2.0 per cent to $601.20, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3452, Solana (SOL) jumped by 0.8 per cent to $178.87, Ripple (XRP) grew by 0.6 per cent to $0.5193, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 0.02 per cent to $70.03, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.06 per cent to finish at $1.00, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00.
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied on Tuesday by 0.75 per cent after investors intensified their demand for local stocks.
It was a tough battle between the bulls and the bears during the session, but the former overcame by a whisker after the bourse recorded 29 appreciating equities and 28 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The growth posted by Customs Street yesterday could be attributed to the appetite for MTN Nigeria shares, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N256.30.
SCOA Nigeria appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, Omatek grew by 9.88 per cent to 89 Kobo, Universal Insurance rose by 8.70 per cent to 75 Kobo, and CAP gained 8.52 per cent to trade at N47.75.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology lost 9.88 per cent to quote at 73 Kobo, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.30, Sunu Assurances tumbled by 8.21 per cent to N6.15, Deap Capital slumped by 7.08 per cent to N1.05, and C&I Leasing depreciated by 6.82 per cent to N4.10.
A total of 440.3 million equities valued at N12.0 billion exchanged hands in 13,087 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities worth N17.7 billion transacted in 13,891 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 66.79 per cent, 32.20 per cent and 5.79 per cent, respectively.
Lasaco Assurance ended the session as the most traded stock after it sold 108.1 million units valued at N338.7 million, Access Holdings traded 44.0 million units for N1.1 billion, UBA exchanged 27.9 million units worth N945.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 26.7 million units for N1.3 billion, and Universal Insurance traded 22.7 million units valued at N16.7 million.
On Tuesday, the insurance, banking and industrial goods sectors jumped by 1.03 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.03 per cent, respectively, and the consumer goods and energy counters lost 0.38 per cent and 0.36 per cent apiece.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went up yesterday by 767.63 points to 103,137.99 points from 102,370.36 points and the market capitalisation increased by N472 billion to N63.333 trillion from N62.861 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
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