Economy
Negative Economic Data Keeps Lid on Brent, WTI Prices Friday
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil prices retreated at the end of the week on the back of more negative news from economic data worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
on Friday, the Brent crude futures fell 70 cents or 1.56 per cent to trade at $44.20 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 48 cents or 1.12 per cent to $42.34 per barrel.
Eurozone purchasing managers index readings yesterday showed a slowdown in the region’s economic activity, while data out of Japan indicated a continued decline in activities.
The IHS Markit flash eurozone composite purchasing managers index slipped to a two-month low of 51.6 in August from 54.9 in July. The number, while pointing to improving conditions as it’s above 50, nonetheless, came in below economist expectations for a 55.3 reading.
Meanwhile, a renewed rise in COVID-19 cases in parts of Europe and elsewhere have underlined worries about the outlook for oil demand.
In the United States, the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefit last week increased and topped one million after recording the lowest figure the previous week since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the US Labor Department.
A total of 1,106,000, jobless claims were filed, representing a week-on-week increase of 135,000 and this was not supportive of the market.
In Asia, a cutback in refining activity in response to poor fuel demand is a troubling sign, analysts said.
Oil prices have collapsed as the coronavirus curtailed travel and economic activity. While some countries have resumed activities allowing demand to make recovery. However, the unfavourable outlook has kept a lid on prices and experts expect this to persist.
The problem of oversupply is also affecting the market. Reports noted that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) offset could total 2.3 million barrels per day.
The group of OPEC+ producers that may need to compensate for past overproduction could cut by as much as 2.31 million barrels per day, according to calculations and if spread over more than one month, the figure would be smaller.
To further add to concerns over diminishing demand, US crude oil stocks fell less than market forecasts for the week ending August 14.
According to data released by the country’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels to 512.5 million barrels for the week ending August 14, relative to the market expectation of a decrease of 2.7 million barrels.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.01 per cent on Tuesday, June 23, dragging the market capitalisation down by N25.91 billion to N2.544 trillion from Monday’s N2.570 trillion. Also, the NASD Security Index (NSI) decreased by 43.17 points to 4,239.34 points from 4,282.51 points.
The triplet price losers were Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N4.82 to trade at N75.00 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N79.82 per unit. NASD Plc depreciated by N3.70 to close at N33.30 per share compared with the preceding day’s N37.00 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc marginally lost 1 Kobo to sell at N21.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N21.42 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities traded by investors retreated by 35.9 per cent to 211,671 units from 330,034 units, and the value of securities fell by 82.9 per cent to N5.6 million from N32.7 million, while the number of deals doubled to 38 deals from 19 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.1 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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