Economy
Inflation Drops to 14.33% in February as Food Index Eases to 17.59%
By Dipo Olowookere
For the 13th consecutive month, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation rate in Nigeria, dropped to 14.33 percent in February 2018 against 15.13 percent recorded in January 2018.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which released the inflation data on Wednesday, this was 0.8 percent points less than the rate January 2018 rate.
The stats office disclosed that increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yield the Headline Index.
On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.79 percent in February 2018, down by 0.01 percent points from the rate recorded in January.
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve month period ending February 2018 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve month period was 15.93 percent, showing 0.29 percent point lower from 16.22 percent recorded in January 2018.
The Food Index increased by 17.59 percent (year-on-year) in February, down by 1.33 percent points from rate recorded in January 2018 (18.92) percent.
During the month, all major food sub-indexes increased.
Price movements recorded by All Items less farm produce or Core sub-index increased by 11.7 percent (year-on-year) in February 2018, down by 0.4 percent points from the rate recorded in January (12.10) percent.
During the month, the highest increases were seen in prices of Fuel and lubricants for personal transport equipment, Maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, Narcotics, Vehicle spare parts, Passenger transport by air, Clearing, repair and hire of clothing, Hospital services, Domestic services and household services and Glassware, tableware and household utensils.
Also, the Urban inflation rate rose by 14.76 percent (year-on-year) in February 2018 from 15.56 percent recorded in January, while the Rural inflation rate also eased by 13.96 percent in February 2018 from 14.76 percent in January.
On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.82 percent in February 2018, down by 0.01 from 0.83 percent recorded in January, while the rural index also rose by 0.77 percent in February 2018, showing no difference with the rate recorded in January.
The corresponding twelve month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 16.24 percent in February 2018. This is less than 16.55 percent reported in January, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in February 2018 is 15.64 percent compared to 15.89 percent recorded in January.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bearish outcome for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Wednesday due to persistent profit-taking.
The local bourse shed 0.05 per cent at midweek as investors tread cautiously, causing the All-Share Index (ASI) to contract by 78.28 points to 146,862.01 points from 146,940.29 points, with the market capitalisation giving up N34 billion to settle at N93.625 trillion compared with the previous day’s N93.659 trillion.
Chams ended the trading day as the worst-performing stock after it lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N3.06, Haldane McCall declined by 8.88 per cent to N4.00, UAC Nigeria slumped by 8.18 per cent to N80.80, and Sunu Assurance moderated by 6.98 per cent to N4.00.
The best-performing stock for the session was Japaul due to its 10.00 per cent rise, closing at N2.53. Prestige Assurance expanded by 9.40 per cent to N1.63, MeCure inflated by 7.72 per cent to N34.90, The Initiates rose by 7.30 per cent to N12.50, and Consolidated Hallmark gained 6.97 per cent to close at N4.30.
Business Post observed that despite the loss, the market breadth index was positive after Customs Street finished with 28 price gainers and 23 price losers, implying a strong investor sentiment.
The most traded equity was Cutix with 122.9 million units sold for N369.1 million, FCMB exchanged 80.7 million units worth N879.3 million, Consolidated Hallmark transacted 71.2 million units valued at N286.4 million, Fidelity Bank traded 63.8 million units worth N1.2 billion, and Tantalizers had a turnover of 57.8 million units valued at N136.5 million.
In all, investors bought and sold 747.1 million shares for N12.4 billion in 19,161 deals versus the 2.0 billion shares worth N30.2 billion executed in 23,038 deals on Tuesday, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 62.65 per cent, 58.94 per cent, and 16.83 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.52 or o.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,455.38/$1 on Wednesday, December 8, from the N1,451.86/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
It was a similar story for the local currency against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday as its value shrank by N2.51 to close at N1,937.26/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,934.75/£1 and lost N1.63 against the Euro to settle at N1,692.76/€1 compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N1,691.13/€1.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,470/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,465/$1 but traded flat at N1,460/$1 at GTBank.
The domestic currency faces pressures from increasing year-end Dollar demand as importers and retailers are actively sourcing FX for Christmas and New Year’s sales.
However, this is still stable, reflecting divergent currency dynamics between the regulated official segment and the informal markets as the Naira’s movement remains within the trading band.
This suggests that the FX market is adjusting gradually to seasonal pressures while awaiting further policy signals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market tumbled despite the Federal Reserve’s decision to trim its fed funds rate range by 25 basis points. Traders were spooked by comments by Federal Reserve’s chairman Jerome Powell who sounded both dovish and hawkish.
While the rate cut is largely anticipated by market participants, looser financial conditions with a resilient US economy could help bolster risk appetite on markets. According to Mr Powell, the US labour market might be weaker than previously thought, while also sounding cautious about gains made in fighting inflation.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 7.0 per cent to $0.4311, Solana (SOL) fell by 5.9 per cent to $131.06, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.6 per cent to $0.1385, Litecoin (LTC) crashed by 3.9 per cent to $81.26, and Ripple (XRP) declined by 3.7 per cent to $2.01.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) moderated by 3.4 per cent to $3,209.84, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 2.6 per cent to $871.20, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 2.5 per cent to sell at $90,316.82, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, adding to concerns about immediate supplies, with Brent futures up by 27 cents or 0.4 per cent to $62.21 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures up by 21 cents or 0.4 per cent to $58.46 per barrel.
The American government seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking a major escalation in tensions between the two nations.
President Donald Trump confirmed the operation, saying, “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized actually,” adding later that the US will keep the oil.
The US Coast Guard, Federal Bureau of Information (FBI), and Homeland Security, executed a seizure warrant, boarding the tanker by helicopter. The vessel, identified by maritime sources as the Panama-flagged Skipper (formerly named Adisa), had been under US sanctions for several years for its alleged role in transporting Venezuelan and Iranian crude via a shadow oil-shipping network tied to Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
According to tracking data, the tanker had recently loaded heavy crude at Venezuela’s Puerto José.
In Caracas, the government of President Nicolás Maduro condemned the seizure, branding it “a blatant theft” and an act of “international piracy.”
The tanker seizure further inflames concerns about immediate supplies in a market that was already worried about movements of Venezuelan, Iranian and Russian barrels.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, which could help lift oil demand by boosting economic growth.
The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Mr Jerome Powell declined to say whether there would be another rate cut in the near future, but said the central bank is well positioned to respond to what lies ahead for the economy.
Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 1.8 million barrels during the week ending December 5, after adding a modest 600,000 barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
The EIA’s data release follows figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories fell by 4.8 million barrels.
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