Economy
Inflation to Drop to 15.04% in January on Slower Food Index Growth—FSDH
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading financial consulting firms in Nigeria, FSDH, has predicted a drop in the nation’s inflation rate for the month of January.
In its Inflation Watch report released on Thursday, February 1, 2018, the company said inflation will drop to 15.04 percent from 15.37 percent recorded in December 2017.
“FSDH Research expects the inflation rate (year-on-year) to drop to 15.04 percent in January 2018 from 15.37 percent recorded in the month of December 2017,” the report said.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), according to its calendar, will release the inflation rate for the month of January 2018 on February 14, 2018.
According to FSDH, the expected decline in the inflation rate is as a result of a slower growth in the year on year Food Index in January 2018 than what was recorded in December 2017.
It said the January 2018 monthly Food Price Index (FPI) from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that the Index averaged 169.5 points. The Index was largely unchanged from the December 2017 figure.
The FPI was down by 0.18 percent, from the revised December 2017 figure but almost 3 percent below the corresponding period last year.
The movement in the food prices were in varying directions in January 2018. The cereal and vegetable oil prices appreciated while sugar and dairy prices depreciated.
The FAO Dairy Price Index depreciated by 2.44 percent in January. The prices of dairy products such as cheese and butter depreciated significantly during the period. The FAO Sugar Price Index dropped by 1.49 percent on the heels of favourable supply conditions in the main sugar producing regions in Brazil and increased exports availabilities.
The FAO Meat Index was marginally down by 0.60 percent on the backdrop of weak global import demand for poultry and pig meat.
On the flip side, the FAO Cereal Price Index gained 2.31 percent from the previous month. Wheat, maize and rice prices firmed up and were primarily responsible for the uptick in the value of the Index.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index was up marginally by 0.33 percent, driven by the rise in palm oil prices which outweighed weakening prices for other oils.
“Our analysis indicates that the value of the Naira appreciated in the inter-bank market while it depreciated in the parallel market. The Naira gained 30kobo to close at N305.70/ $ in the interbank market while it lost N1 to close at N364.50/ $ in the parallel market.
“FSDH Research expects the drop in the international prices of food to counter the effect of the depreciation in the Naira in the parallel market.
“Hence, there should be a moderation in the pass-through effect of imported goods on local prices. The prices of most of the food items we monitored in January 2018 moved in varying directions, leading to 0.79 percent increase in our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index. The Food and Non-Alcoholic Index increased by 18.78 percent from 220.41 points in January 2017.
“We also noticed increase in the prices of Transport and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels divisions between December 2017 and January 2018.
“We estimate that the increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) in January 2018 would produce an inflation rate of 15.04 percent lower than the 15.37 percent recorded in December 2017,” the report said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of fast food brands like Chicken Republic and PieXpress, has disclosed plans to pay 10 Kobo in interim dividend to new and existing shareholders for the 2026 financial year.
This was disclosed by the company in a notice to the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, where it trades its securities.
The notice indicated that the proposed interim dividend, which comes with no bonus, will be paid to those who hold the stocks of the company as of the qualification date for the dividend, which was Tuesday, March 24.
This means only those who hold the company’s shares as of the closing session will be eligible to receive the stipulated dividend payment.
The shareholders of the company will be credited with the 10 Kobo dividend on Tuesday, March 31.
The notice noted that the closure of the company’s register will be on Wednesday, March 25, through Friday, March 27, 2026, both days inclusive.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange dropped for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, March 18, by 0.39 per cent due to continued sell-offs.
In what would be the final trading session of the week due to public holidays on Thursday and Friday for Eid-el-Fitr, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) further dipped by 16.14 points to 4,114.75 points from 4,130.89 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.66 billion to close at N2.461 trillion versus the previous day’s N2.471 trillion.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N10.32 to sell at N112.00 per share versus N122.32 per share, NASD Plc dropped N4.50 to finish at N41.50 per unit compared with the previous session’s N46.00 per unit, and Geo-Fluids decreased by 9 Kobo to N3.02 per share from N3.11 per share.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc improved by N2.23 to N24.57 per unit from N22.34 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc advanced by 90 Kobo to N76.33 per share from N75.43 per share, Food Concepts Plc rose by 24 Kobo to N3.30 per unit from N3.06 per unit, UBN Property Plc surged by 20 Kobo to N2.18 per share from N1.98 per share, Impresit Bakalori Plc jumped 16 Kobo to N1.83 per unit from N1.67 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 14 Kobo to trade at N1.89 per share versus N1.75 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities went up by 43,404.4 per cent to 400.8 million units from 921,265 units, the value of securities grew by 2,108.7 per cent to N1.2 billion from N54.7 million, and the number of deals soared by 23.7 per cent to 47 deals from 38 deals.
CSCS Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 38.7 million units valued at N2.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units exchanged for N1.2 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
Resourcery Plc finished the session as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, trailed by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 131.1 million units valued at N505.6 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a pullback of 0.69 per cent as a result of profit-taking by investors, with shares in the banking and energy sectors mostly affected.
Data harvested by Business Post showed that the energy index was down by 4.58 per cent during the session, and the banking space lost 2.14 per cent.
They brought down the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,402.56 points to 201,156.85 points from 202,559.41 points and shrank the market capitalisation by N900 billion to N129.126 trillion from N130.026 trillion.
Customs Street ended in red at midweek despite three of the five key sectors finishing in green. The consumer goods counter expanded by 1.19 per cent, the industrial goods index improved by 0.46 per cent, and the insurance sector grew by 0.43 per cent.
Red Star Express declined by 9.98 per cent to N25.70, Aradel Holdings went down by 9.68 per cent to N1,210.30, Presco lost 9.30 per cent to trade at N1,701.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank crashed by 8.40 per cent to N4.80, and DAAR Communications dropped 7.50 per cent to end at N1.85.
On the flip side, Secure Electronic Technology gained 10.00 per cent to settle at N1.32, Guinness Nigeria rose by 9.92 per cent to N423.20, John Holt increased by 9.72 per cent to N11.85, Sovereign Trust Insurance surged by 9.57 per cent to N2.06, and Linkage Assurance chalked up 9.33 per cent to trade at N1.64.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday after the bourse registered 33 price gainers and 38 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
Market participants bought and sold 6.1 billion stocks valued at N130.1 billion in 58,562 deals compared with the 1.8 billion stocks worth N88.1 billion traded in 62,654 deals on Tuesday, representing a shortfall in the number of deals by 6.53 per cent, and a spike in the trading volume and value by 238.89 per cent and 47.67 per cent apiece.
The most active equity on Wednesday was eTranzact with 5.2 billion units sold for N24.3 billion, Wema Bank exchanged 111.4 million units worth N3.1 billion, Coronation Insurance transacted 96.4 million units valued at N303.9 million, Dangote Cement traded 75.2 million units for N56.5 billion, and Access Holdings exchanged 61.5 million units valued at N1.6 billion.
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