Economy
Manufactured Goods Imports into Nigeria Drop 5.1%
By Sodeinde Temidayo David
The value of manufactured goods imports into Nigeria in the second quarter of 2021 depreciated by 5.1 per cent to N4.3 trillion, though it accounted for 61.86 per cent of the total imports of N7.0 trillion in the period under review.
Data analysed by Business Post from the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week showed that used vehicles were mainly imported from the United States and Italy worth N33.8 billion and N5.7 billion respectively.
Also, during the quarter, machines for reception, conversion and transmission were imported from China, Sweden and Hong Kong in values worth N118.7 billion, N9.0 billion and 5.2 billion, while motorcycles worth N32.7 billion and N61.8 billion were imported from China and India.
It was further discovered that Herbicides worth N81.2 billion were imported from China, while polypropylene worth N35.8 billion, N15.5 billion and N9.5 billion came into the country from South Africa, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
Between April and June 2021, the stats office said the value of raw material imported into the country increased by 25.6 per cent compared to Q1 2021 and 47.3 per cent compared to Q2 2020, while imported agricultural products increased by 3.5 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis and rose by 56.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
In a similar trend, there was a 21.4 per cent increase in the value of solid minerals imports compared to Q1 2021 and 68.3 per cent year-on-year, while other oil products imports rose by 13.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year by 218.5 per cent, with the value of energy goods imports decreasing by 94.6 per cent in Q2, 2021 against the worth recorded in Q1,2021 and 88.7 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020.
The NBS said the total value of imports in the period under consideration rose year-on-year by 67.5 per cent as the chunk of the country’s trade came from imports, accounting for 57.8 per cent.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, trade grew by 1.5 per cent, driven further by the opening of the Nigerian borders after the pandemic and as foreign relationships continued to stabilize.
Breaking down the value of imports by the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), it was revealed that machinery and transport equipment was responsible for the major increase in import value as it accounted for N2.5 trillion or 35.9 per cent of total import trade.
This was followed by chemicals and related products at N1.3 trillion or 18.3 per cent, as well as mineral fuel at N1.1 trillion or 15.98 per cent.
Also, imported food and live animals recorded N951.28 billion or 13.7 per cent, while manufactured goods accounted for N640.5 billion or 9.2 per cent.
In terms of the imports trading partners, the majority of the goods imported during the quarter was from China with a value of N2.1 trillion or 29.9 per cent, followed by India at N570.01 billion or 8.20 per cent, the Netherlands at N557.2billion or 8.02 per cent, and the United States at N526.92 billion or 7.58 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.16 per cent decline on Tuesday, January 21, extending its loss this week to two.
This further depleted the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange by N1.65 billion at the close of transactions to N1.071 trillion from the N1.073 trillion it closed in the preceding session.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slid by 4.79 points to wrap the session at 3,100.33 points compared with 3,105.12 points recorded in the previous session.
The bourse ended with two price losers yesterday led by Geo Fluids Plc, which gave up 32 Kobo to trade at N4.38 per share versus Monday’s closing price of N4.70 per share and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which depreciated by 15 Kobo to close at N39.50 per unit compared with the previous day’s N39.65 per unit.
On the second trading day of the week, the number of deal carried out slightly went up by 8.3 per cent to 13 deals from the 12 deals executed at the previous trading session.
Also, the value of transactions increased by 97.2 per cent to N4.5 million from the N2.5 million recorded a day earlier, while the volume of securities traded in the session declined by 71.6 per cent to 183,780 units from the 767,610 units recorded on Monday.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most traded equity by value (year-to-date) with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with 55,358 sold for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 25.3 million units worth N5.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units valued at N162.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure further mounted on the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, making its value to shrink against the United States Dollar at the close of business.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the domestic currency crashed against its American counterpart during the session by 0.18 per cent or N2.73 to settle at N1,552.78/$1, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N1,550.05/1.
But against the Pound Sterling and the Euro, the local currency traded flat in the official market yesterday at N1,906.98/£1 and N1,613.48/€1, respectively.
As for the black market segment, the Naira weakened against the Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to sell for N1,670/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N1,665/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market heaved a sigh of relief during the session as President Donald Trump created a crypto task force dedicated to “developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.”
The task force will be led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, a long-time advocate for the crypto industry, and will work closely with the crypto industry to develop regulations. This is after Mr Gary Gensler, an opponent of crypto, officially stepped down as chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after Mr Trump’s term started.
The task force will also work with Congress, providing “technical assistance” as it crafts crypto regulations.
Solana (SOL) recorded a 9.2 per cent growth to sell at $257.09, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 7.6 per cent to $0.36789, Ripple (XRP) added 4.0 per cent to finish at $3.18, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 3.7 per cent to $105,515.03.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 2.8 per cent to close at $699.01, Cardano jumped by 2.1 per cent to trade at $0.9972, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 2.0 per cent to settle at $3,308.21, and Litecoin (LTC) went up by 1.5 per cent to end at $116.72, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The price of the Brent crude oil grade went below the $80 mark on Tuesday after it shed 86 cents or 1.1 per cent to trade at $79.29 per barrel after the US President, Mr Donald Trump, signaled the possibility of his country boosting its oil production.
This move raised concerns of higher US output in a market widely expected to be oversupplied this year, with the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures falling by $1.99 or 2.6 per cent during the session to $75.89 per barrel.
On his first day in office, the US President signed an executive order to unleash America’s energy by easing the barriers to oil and gas extraction and production and revoking a series of climate orders by former President Joe Biden.
As pledged in the campaign, the executive order follows the declaration of a national energy emergency.
The declaration includes measures to expedite energy infrastructure delivery, and emergency approvals by agencies “to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands.”
This will likely confirm expectations that the oil market will be oversupplied this year after weak economic activity and energy transition efforts weighed heavily on demand in top-consuming nations the US and China.
President Trump also said he was considering imposing 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico from February 1, rather than on his first day in office as promised.
The delay helped ease concerns of an immediate tightening of the market among US refiners, many of which are geared to process the type of crude oil supplied by these countries.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reiterated on Tuesday its expectations for oil prices to decline both this year and next.
On its part, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) projects robust demand growth in the world both this year and next.
In 2025, OPEC says demand is set to grow by 1.4 million barrels per day leaving its projection unchanged from the December report.
However, losses were also limited after the US president said his administration would “probably” stop buying oil from Venezuela. The U.S. is the second-biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil after China.
Also weighing on prices on Tuesday was the potential end to the shipping disruption in the Red Sea.
Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday they will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israel-linked ships provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented.
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