By Adedapo Adesanya

It was still a bad day for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, March 19 as its value further depreciated by a 0.74 per cent or N11.40 on the US Dollar to close at N1,547.52/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,536.12/$1.

It was the third straight trading day the exchange rate of the Nigerian currency was going under against its American counterpart in the official market as a result of sustained FX pressure despite efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the ecosystem.

The currency market is already reacting to the explosion that affected the Trans-Niger Pipeline in Rivers State on Monday night. The facility feeds crude oil to the Bonny export terminal. There are reports that operations have again resumed but the political tension in the state is fueling worries about FX earnings.

Business Post reports that the domestic currency stumbled against the Pound Sterling yesterday in the spot market by N35.50 to sell at N1,985.39/£1 versus N1,949.89/£1 but gained N5.39 on the Euro to settle at N1,668.11/€1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N1,673.50/€1.

As for the parallel market, the value of the Nigerian Naira against the US Dollar remained unchanged during the session as N1,585/$1.

In the digital currency market, most of the tokens appreciated after the US Federal Reserve left rates steady, as expected, but sharply cut its growth outlook while upping its inflation forecast.

The US Federal Reserve left its benchmark fed funds rate range steady at 4.25 per cent -4.50 per cent on Wednesday, the second consecutive pause since three straight rate cuts to end 2024.

The US central bank quarterly economic projections, though, showed a sharp decline in expectations for economic growth, with the GDP increase in 2025 now seen at just 1.7 per cent versus 2.1 per cent at the December forecast. The growth outlooks for 2026 and 2027 were trimmed as well.

Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.3 per cent to $2.45, Solana (SOL) increased by 6.7 per cent to $134.56, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 4.2 per cent to $0.1746, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 3.9 per cent to $2,013.42, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 3.3 per cent to $85,916.02, Cardano (ADA) also soared by 3.3 per cent to $0.7310, Litecoin (LTC) gained 2.9 per cent to sell at $92.61, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 1.9 per cent to settle at $628.49, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market was up on Wednesday after US government data showed a mixed outcome in inventories data as Brent appreciated by 22 cents or 0.31 per cent to $70.78 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 26 cents or 0.39 per cent to trade at $67.16 per barrel.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) yesterday revealed that US crude stocks rose by 1.7 million barrels last week to 437 million barrels.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a build of 4.593 million barrels in US crude oil inventories amid a strong gasoline draw.

For total motor gasoline, the EIA estimated that inventories decreased by 500,000 barrels for the week to March 14, with production averaging 9.6 million barrels daily, in contrast to a large inventory decrease of 5.7 million barrels for the previous week and an average daily production of 9.6 million barrels daily.

For middle distillates, the EIA estimated another inventory decrease, this time of 2.8 million barrels, with production increasing to an average of 4.6 million barrels daily versus an inventory dip of 1.6 million barrels in the week prior, when production stood at an average 4.5 million barrels daily. Distillate inventories are now 6 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady capped gains.

The US central bamk held rates steady at the 4.25 per cent -4.50 per cent range but signaled it could reducing borrowing costs by half a percentage point by the end of this year in the context of slowing economic growth and a downturn in inflation.

In the Middle East, Israel resumed ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip after President Donald Trump vowed to continue his country’s assault on Yemen’s Houthis.

He said he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the group that has disrupted shipping in the Red Sea.

Investors also watched Ukraine ceasefire talks as Russia agreed to President Trump’s proposal that the two countries would temporarily stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.

Analysts say this increases chances for peace and eventually for Russian oil to re-enter global markets.

Despite this, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a new agreement to refrain from attacks on energy targets, hours after it was agreed.

Also, US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China have raised fears of recession, and worries of slower energy demand weighed on oil prices.

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated further by 0.44 per cent on Wednesday as selling pressure continued as investors monitor happenings in Rivers State, where pipeline explosion and political crisis triggered a state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu.

Investor sentiment was weak at midweek as Customs Street ended with 37 price losers and 13 price gainers, representing a negative market breadth index.

Livestock Feeds lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N8.46, eTranzact declined by 9.40 per cent to N5.30, Coronation Insurance slumped by 9.27 per cent to N2.35, MRS Oil shed 8.99 per cent to settle at N162.00, and May and Baker crashed by 8.05 per cent to N8.00.

On the flip side, Julius Berger appreciated by 8.47 per cent to N137.00, Omatek gained 6.15 per cent to close at 69 Kobo, UPDC rose by 2.69 per cent to N3.05, Wema Bank expanded by 2.43 per cent to N10.55, and Unilever Nigeria improved by 2.12 per cent to N38.50.

Business Post reports that all the key sectors witnessed profit-taking except the industrial goods space, which closed flat.

The insurance counter went down by 1.62 per cent, the banking index lost 1.37 per cent, the energy space shed 1.32 per cent, the commodity sector tumbled by 0.45 per cent, and the consumer goods industry shrank by 0.09 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 460.56 points to 104,915.13 points from 105,375.69 points and the market capitalisation dropped N288 billion to finish at N65.790 trillion compared with Tuesday’s value of N66.078 trillion.

The market recorded a turnover of 1.4 billion stocks worth N12.4 billion in 12,012 deals versus the 350.0 million stocks valued at N8.2 billion traded in 11,230 deals in the preceding session, indicating a surge in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 290.46 per cent, 51.22 per cent, and 6.96 per cent, respectively.

The busiest equity yesterday was Sovereign Trust Insurance with the sale of 1.0 billion units for N989.0 million, Fidelity Bank transacted 42.8 million units worth N723.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.6 million units valued at N698.0 million, Jaiz Bank sold 24.0 million units worth N85.0 million, and Zenith Bank traded 21.6 million units valued at N1.0 billion.