Economy
Mastering This Art Called Forex
Like any other art form, forex is an art that requires mastery.
“Master Forex”. I’m almost certain I have never heard these two words put together before. I mean, is this even a thing? One can attain mastery in a thing like…like forex trading? Hold that thought while I tell you a quick story.
Picasso is casually sitting in a park. A woman, recognizing him, walks up to him and begs for a portrait of herself. Picasso is in a good mood so he agrees. In a few really short minutes, he hands her the portrait.
Completely awed and excited, she asks how much she owes him.
“$5,000, ma’am”, replied Picasso. In wide-eyed shock, the woman asks Picasso how on earth a drawing could cost so much even though it took only a few minutes.
Picasso smiled and responded, “No ma’am, it took me my whole life”.
This story is particularly interesting because it efficiently explains what mastery looks like when it is attained. The way masterpieces are created with relative ease is fascinating.
Picasso comes up when you think of the greatest artists of all time and his phrase “it took me my whole life” subtly highlights that there are no hacks or shortcuts to mastery.
So, can everyone get to that level? What’s the process like, from novice to master? What’s the cost of attaining mastery? Does it take the entirety of one’s life? Can one attain mastery in all things, even forex trading?
The whole concept of mastery may seem a little vague and intimidating, but at its core, mastery is a simple process accessible and attainable to all. For anyone to be a master at anything, they need a desire to learn and the ability to focus in deliberate practice.
Case in point, forex trading. In the beginning, the market looks rather intimidating – we don’t understand all the coloured lines we see or why they keep forming. It is important that we don’t give in to feelings of confusion, fear, boredom or impatience, that may arise at this point, or we may halt the mastery process. What to do instead is overcome our hunger for magical shortcuts, decide on our goals and stay the course.
My advice – in actionable steps – for anyone looking to master forex is to commit to continuous learning, stay focused as you practice, and get yourself a good broker.
OctaFX is an international broker providing traders of all skill levels with an opportunity to earn more. They provide wonderful initiatives that make your journey to forex mastery a much smoother one. They don’t give you a shortcut, they streamline the process and save you an avoidable headache. Check out your new broker here.
So, while you might not yet be the Picasso of forex trading, decide on that goal and stay the course. Decide now, not to quit when things get difficult or confusing. Keep showing up. Keep learning. Keep practising. Be humble when you fail. Be persistent in getting up again.
Gradually, you would find that you have built your creative intuition and you know the market through and through. You would make trading decisions with a rhythm that comes from within – true, unmatched intuition – like a true artist. A true artist of forex trading.
We can all be masters.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria met its production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as crude oil and condensate production soared to an average of 1,735,398 barrels per day in June 2026, representing positive growth for a fourth consecutive month.
This is according to a statement released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and signed by its Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, on Sunday.
The regulator noted that in June, crude oil production hit 1.56 million barrels per day while 0.18 million barrels per day of condensates were produced. The commission revealed that Nigeria met 104 per cent of the 1.5 million barrels per day crude oil production quota set by OPEC.
Business Post reports that OPEC quota doesn’t account for condensates in its count.
In strict crude oil terms (excluding condensates), the 1.56 million daily average production Nigeria witnessed in June is the highest that Africa’s biggest oil producer has recorded since April 2020, thus representing a 74-month high.
In June, NUPRC noted that the peak combined crude oil and condensate production was 1.89 million barrels per day, reflecting Nigeria’s potential to reach 2 million barrels per day in the near term. However, the lowest production was 1.57 million barrels per day for the period in review.
According to the upstream regulator, the improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets and the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review.
This enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest oil producer, has not been able to top its record-high production of 2.5 million barrels per day recorded in 2025 due to challenges ranging from underinvestment to oil theft.
By Dipo Olowookere
On the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, investors transacted 3.648 billion shares worth N220.568 billion in 251,861 deals compared with the 3.821 billion shares valued at N154.393 billion traded in 258,567 deals a week earlier.
Analysis showed that financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.899 billion units sold for N147.360 billion in 106,603 deals, accounting for 79.48 per cent and 66.81 per cent of the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities recorded a turnover of 164.914 million units valued at N3.615 billion in 16,375 deals, and the consumer goods shares exchanged 157.451 million units worth N7.777 billion in 27,950 deals.
First Holdco, Zenith Bank, and Fidelity Bank were the busiest stocks for the five-day trading week, trading 1.745 billion units valued at N121.828 billion in 31,053 deals, contributing 47.85 per cent and 55.23 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Business Post reports that 60 equities appreciated during the week versus 22 equities in the previous week, 28 shares depreciated versus 57 shares of the preceding week, and 58 stocks closed flat versus 67 stocks of the previous week.
International Breweries gained 40.00 per cent to trade at N13.30, RT Briscoe expanded by 32.02 per cent to N13.40, Livestock Feeds improved by 28.47 per cent to N9.25, First Holdco chalked up 25.82 per cent to close at N69.20, and Abbey Bank rose by 23.65 per cent to N9.15.
On the flip side, McNichols lost 28.57 per cent to finish at N5.00, Thomas Wyatt gave up 11.64 per cent to quote at N2.43, Geregu Power declined by 10.00 per cent to N825.70, CAP shed 9.99 per cent to settle at N157.60, and Guinness Nigeria also slipped by 9.99 per cent to N329.00.
Customs Street was under buying pressure last week, making the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation close higher by 6.35 per cent to 243,798.76 points and N156.445 trillion, respectively.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the growth and sovereign bond indices, which depreciated by 7.43 per cent and 0.02 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 2.30 per cent, spurring the NASD Security Index (NSI) to close higher by 96.61 points to 4,296.34 points from 4,199.73 points, and raising the market capitalisation by N57.99 billion to N2.578 trillion from N2.521 trillion.
The market was up yesterday despite a lower activity level, as the volume of securities traded slumped by 94.7 per cent to 1.3 million units from the previous 23.9 million units. The value of securities slipped by 57.2 per cent to N29.2 million from the preceding session’s N68.2 million, while the number of deals executed by market participants increased by 6.7 per cent to 32 deals from the 30 deals carried out on Thursday.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.8 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
During the trading day, there were three price gainers and two price losers, led by Afriland Properties Plc, which shed N1.48 to sell at N15.17 per share compared with the previous session’s N16.65 per share, and Food Concepts Plc, which slid by 7 Kobo to close at N2.69 per unit versus N2.76 per unit.
Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved its value by N9.50 to trade at N150.00 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N140.50 per share, CSCS Plc went up by N7.95 to N89.65 per unit from N81.70 per unit, and 11 Plc soared by N6.94 to N206.95 per share from N200.01 per share.
