Economy
Iran Concerns, Weak Dollar Lift Brent Crude to $68 Per Barrel
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Brent crude grade gained 1.23 per cent or 83 cents to trade at $68.40 per barrel on Wednesday amid looming Iran concerns, supported by a weak US Dollar.
In the same vein, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 82 cents or 1.31 per cent to trade at $63.21 per barrel.
US President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next US attack would be far worse, but Tehran said that if that happened it would fight back as never before.
“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” President Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday.
US Central Command said Monday that the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group had arrived in the Middle East “to promote regional security and stability.”
The American President had threatened to attack Iran if it killed protestors during a mass uprising earlier this month. Thousands of people died after the Islamic Republic cracked down on the unrest. But the U.S. president has held back from military intervention so far.
He also warned Iran that a possible attack would be worse than the bombing campaign he ordered last June on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
A weak US Dollar kept the prices elevated as it neared four-year lows against a basket of other currencies, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil cheaper for those holding other currencies.
Meanwhile, in its first monetary policy decision of 2026, the Federal Reserve elected to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.50 per cent–3.75 per cent, pausing further cuts after three reductions late last year.
The decision, made at the January 27–28 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, reflects a cautious stance amid mixed economic signals and persistent inflation above target.
The FOMC statement shows that while economic activity “has been expanding at a solid moderate pace,” job gains have slowed and the unemployment rate has only “shown some signs of stabilization,” leading policymakers to resist further easing for now.
Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the US are set to resume in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 1.
Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 2.3 million barrels during the week ending January 24, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The EIA’s data release follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories fell by 247,000 barrels.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded its best performance this year on Tuesday, June 2, closing higher by 1.89 per cent.
During the session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 81.62 points to 4,406.30 points from the preceding day’s 4,324.68 points, and the market capitalisation added N48.48 billion to close at N2.636 trillion compared with Monday’s N2.587 trillion.
Business Post reports that the bourse recorded five price gainers and one price loser, Geo-Fluid Plc, which fell by 1 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.88 per unit.
Conversely, Nipco Plc gained N31.57 to sell at N347.27 per share versus N315.70 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N9.86 to N196.51 per unit from N186.68 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N3.13 to N76.10 per share from N72.97 per share, Food Concepts Plc added 27 Kobo to sell at N2.95 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N2.68 per unit, and UBN Property Plc expanded by 17 Kobo to N2.20 per share from N2.03 per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities transacted by investors depreciated by 91.4 per cent to 307,363 units from the previous session’s 3.6 million units, and the value of securities dropped 75.9 per cent to N42.8 million from the preceding session’s N177.4 million, while the number of deals went up by 13.5 per cent to 42 deals from Monday’s 37 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.3 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further firmed up against the US Dollar by N5.74 or 0.42 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, June 2, trading at N1,361.05/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,366.95/$1.
It was also the same scenario in the official market yesterday, where the Nigerian currency gained 9 Kobo against the Pound Sterling to close at N1,833.19/£1 versus N1,833.28/£1, and against the Euro, it appreciated by N2.73 to sell for N1,584.39/€1 compared with Monday’s rate of N1,587.12/€1.
At the parallel market, the Naira traded flat against the United States Dollar at N1,380/$1, and also closed flat at the GTBank forex counter at N1,378/$1.
Data showed that FX turnover declined to $169.822 million across 168 deals, from $177.927 million in the previous day.
Following the stellar performance witnessed in the first half of 2026, there are expectations that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will continue to inject FX inflows into the official market, while elevated oil prices in the global commodity market will buoy the country’s FX reserves.
The launch of the fourth edition of the CBN’s Foreign Exchange Manual is also expected to make rules clearer in the country’s financial system, including the introduction of new measures covering imports, exports, travel allowances, trade finance, and foreign remittances as the apex bank seeks to improve transparency and efficiency in the FX market.
In the cryptocurrency market, there was a reversal in spikes seen in April price levels amid a price sell-off triggered by geopolitical uncertainties as well as attractiveness of traditional markets, where stocks are near record highs, and the Dollar index remains rangebound.
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 4.1 per cent to $67,352.62, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 5.6 per cent to $644.72, Solana (SOL) declined by 5.6 per cent to $75.09, Ethereum (ETH) fell by 5.3 per cent to $1,878.96, and Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 5.2 per cent to $0.0942.
Further, Cardano (ADA) dipped by 3.7 per cent to $0.2158, Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.2 per cent to $1.24, TRON (TRX) dropped 2.0 per cent to sell at $0.3330, the US Dollar Tether (USDT) shed 0.14 per cent to settle at $0.9986, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) slipped by 0.03 per cent to $0.9997.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further weakened by 0.35 per cent on Tuesday due to persistent selling pressure across the key sectors of the bourse.
During the session, the banking index shed 1.63 per cent, the consumer goods space lost 0.50 per cent, the insurance counter declined by 0.44 per cent, and the energy segment slipped by 0.04 per cent, while the industrial goods sector was flat.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 874.00 points to 246,686.66 points from 247,560.66 points, and the market capitalisation went down by N479 billion to N158.219 trillion from N158.698 trillion.
Like the preceding day, investor sentiment was bearish after Customs Street ended with 18 price gainers and 35 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
PZ Cussons lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N88.20, CWG also shrank by 10.00 per cent to N21.60, ABC Transport crashed by 9.95 per cent to N6.88, Wema Bank slumped by 9.09 per cent to N30.00, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crumbled by 8.16 per cent to N2.70.
On the flip side, CWG gained 9.86 per cent to finish at N5.46, Trans-Nationwide Express chalked up 7.14 per cent to trade at N5.10, Neimeth appreciated by 6.80 per cent to N11.00, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank rose by 5.00 per cent to N4.20, and Abbey Mortgage Bank improved by 4.44 per cent to N7.05.
A look at the activity log showed that Access Holdings led with 113.1 million shares worth N2.7 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 38.1 million equities valued at N4.8 billion, Consolidated Hallmark exchanged 35.4 million stocks for N243.4 million, Neimeth sold 28.8 million shares worth N298.8 million, and Sterling Holdings traded 28.2 million equities valued at N220.1 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 718.8 million stocks for N29.3 billion in 71,683 deals compared with the 1.1 billion stocks worth N44.3 billion transacted in 91,880 deals a day earlier. This indicated that the trading volume, value, and number of deals depreciated by 34.66 per cent, 33.86 per cent, and 21.98 per cent, respectively.
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