Economy

Inflation in Nigeria Escalates to 12.82% in July

Published

4 years ago

17/08/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s inflation hit a 27-month high of 12.82 per cent in July, 0.26 per cent higher than the 12.56 per cent recorded in June 2020.

This is the highest rate recorded since March 2018 when headline inflation was 13.34 per cent and it marked the 11th consecutive month of escalation as a weakened currency and continued border closures drove up food prices.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2020 released on Monday, the composite food index rose to 15.48 per cent from 15.18 per cent in the previous month.

This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers. It was affected by rises in the price of meat, fruits, oils and fats, and fish.

On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.52 per cent in July 2020, up by 0.04 per cent points from 1.48 per cent recorded in June 2020.

The average annual rate of change of the food sub-index for the 12-month period ending July 2020 over the previous 12-month average was 14.63 per cent, 0.17 per cent points from the average annual rate of change recorded in June 2020 at 14.46 per cent.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, stood at 10.1 per cent in July 2020 compared to 10.13 per cent recorded in June 2020.

Increases were recorded in all the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index which increased by 1.25 per cent in July 2020. This is 0.04 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in June 2020, 1.21 per cent.

According to the report, the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending July 2020 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 12.05 per cent, representing a 0.15 per cent point increase from 11.90 per cent recorded in June 2020.

The urban inflation rate increased by 13.40 per cent (year-on-year) in July 2020 from 13.18 per cent recorded in the previous month, while the rural inflation rate increased by 12.28 per cent in July 2020 from 11.99 per cent in June 2020.

On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.27 per cent in July 2020, up by 0.04 from 1.23 per cent recorded in June 2020, while the rural index also rose by 1.23 per cent in July 2020, up by 0.04 from the rate recorded in June 2020, 1.19 per cent.

The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index was 12.66 per cent in July 2020. This is higher than 12.50 per cent reported in June 2020, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in July 2020 is 11.49 per cent compared to 11.36 per cent recorded in June 2020.

Economy

Aradel Holdings Acquires Equity Stake in Chappal Energies

Published

3 hours ago

11/12/2024

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.

This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).

Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.

Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.

As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).

The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.

In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.

The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.

“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.

“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.

“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.

“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.

Economy

Afriland Properties Lifts NASD OTC Securities Exchange by 0.04%

Published

7 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.

As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.

But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.

The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.

During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.

However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.

Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,542/$1 as FX Speculators Dump Dollars in Panic

Published

7 hours ago

11/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.

Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.

Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837

Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.

XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.

Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.