By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, unleashed fresh reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, with Brent futures down by 46 cents or 0.6 per cent to trade at $74.59 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures losing 51 cents or 0.7 per cent to settle at $71.21 per barrel.

President Trump revealed that a minimum 10 per cent tariff would be imposed on all countries exporting goods to the US, stoking concerns that a global trade war may dampen demand for crude.

Additionally, 60 countries with the largest trade imbalances including China, the European Union, and Vietnam now face even steeper levies.

It noted that China, the world’s largest oil importer, will see its total tariff level soar to 54 per cent.

Despite the broad reach of the new tariffs, the energy sector was largely spared as a US official confirmed that imports of oil, gas, and refined products are exempt from the measures.

However, the policies could stoke inflation, slow economic growth and escalate trade disputes, and these could limit oil price gains.

Also, traders remained cautious amid fears that retaliatory measures and a potential global trade slowdown could ultimately weigh on crude demand.

Reports showed that Canada was formally exempted from Wednesday’s reciprocal tariff action. However, the White House noted that non-compliant CUSMA (Canada–US–Mexico Agreement) goods would still be subject to a 25 per cent tariff, and non-compliant CUSMA energy and potash exports would face a 10 per cent duty.

According to the US government, the new duties are due to take effect immediately after President Trump announces them, while a separate 25 per cent global tariff on auto imports will take effect on April 3.

In his first ten weeks in office, the US President has implemented new 20 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports over fentanyl concerns and reinstated the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, expanding them to nearly $150 billion in downstream products.

Mexican President, Ms Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Mexico does not plan to impose a reciprocal tariffs on the US.

President Trump had threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil.

On Monday, he toughened sanctions on Iran as part of his administration’s maximum pressure campaign to cut its exports.

Adding to the supply woes, Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, on Wednesday imposed restrictions on another major oil export route.

The country suspended a mooring at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk a day after restricting loadings from a key Caspian pipeline.

US crude inventories posted a surprisingly large build of about 6.2 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration data (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

While the NFT hype from 2021 has passed, the NFT market is still very much active, attracting creators, brands, collectors, and investors who want to capitalize on this new technology.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll discuss how you can buy your first NFT in Nigeria. For this guide, we’ll walk you through the Magic Eden platform and how you can use it to buy an NFT on Ethereum.

What You Need to Get Started

To buy your first NFT in Nigeria using Magic Eden, you will need three things: an NFT wallet, ETH, and an NFT marketplace.

• A crypto wallet that supports NFTs: A crypto wallet is a software program that stores your digital assets, such as NFTs. For this guide, we’ll demonstrate how to buy your first NFT in Nigeria using the Magic Eden Wallet.

• ETH: Once you have set up your wallet, you will need to buy some ETH tokens if you don’t already have some to buy the NFT and pay for transaction fees.

• NFT marketplace: Last but not least, you will need access to a suitable NFT marketplace, such as Magic Eden, a leading NFT marketplace that supports multiple blockchains.

Step-by-Step Guide to Buying an NFT on Magic Eden

Now that you know what you need, let’s take a look at the step-by-step guide on how you can buy an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain using the Magic Eden platform.

Set Up a Crypto Wallet

When looking to buy NFT, choosing a good crypto wallet is vital. For this guide, we’ll use the Magic Eden Wallet.

Visit MagicEden.io and click the ‘Wallet’ button, then ‘Install on Chrome’ to install the wallet on your browser.

The Magic Eden Wallet is available as a browser extension and mobile app for Android and iOS. For this step-by-step guide, we’ll install the wallet on the Chrome browser.

Next, click the ‘Add to Chrome’ button to install the wallet on your Chrome browser.

Once installed, click ‘Create New Wallet’ and follow the prompts to set up your Magic Eden Wallet. If you already have a Magic Eden Wallet, select the ‘I Have A Wallet’ option.

Next, create a strong password to prevent people from accessing your wallet.

Once you have successfully created and confirmed your password, you will be redirected to the below page.

Click ‘Go to Magic Eden’ to open the Magic Eden marketplace in another tab.

Next, you will need to secure your wallet by backing it up. Click ‘Back Up Now’, enter your password, write down your 12-word seed recovery phrase, and follow the prompts to back up your wallet.

Remember to keep your seed recovery phrase secure as that’s the only way you can recover your wallet and funds in case you lose access to your device.

And that’s it.

That’s how to create and set up your Magic Eden NFT Wallet as a Chrome browser extension.

Buy and Transfer ETH Tokens

With your crypto wallet set up, the next step will be to buy ETH tokens and transfer them to your wallet.

There are various platforms that you can use to buy ETH in Nigeria. Some platforms you can consider include Binance, KuCoin, Remitano, and other local exchanges.

For instance, you can buy ETH on Binance in Nigeria by creating a Binance account, verifying your identity, navigating to the ‘Buy Crypto’ segment, selecting ETH, keying in the amount you want to purchase, choosing your preferred payment method, and following the on-screen prompts to finalize the purchase.

Once you acquire the ETH tokens, transfer them to your wallet by clicking on the ‘Withdraw’ button, select ETH, confirm the network, enter your Magic Eden Wallet address, and follow the on-screen prompts to withdraw your ETH tokens.

Connect Your Wallet to Magic Eden

Visit the Magic Eden platform, click ‘Log In, ’ and choose ‘View all wallets’ to log in or sign up via your crypto wallet.

Select Magic Eden Wallet from the list.

Next, choose the chain you’d like to connect to as shown below. Proceed to choose EVM.

Next, you will receive a pop-up from Magic Eden Wallet requesting you to accept the connection with the Magic Eden marketplace. Click ‘Continue with Magic Eden.’

Click ‘Connect’ to link your Magic Eden Wallet to the Magic Eden marketplace.

Finally, confirm the signature request message on your wallet to connect your Magic Eden Wallet and the Magic Eden platform.

Find the Right NFT Collection

Now that you have successfully connected your crypto wallet to Magic Eden, the next step is to find the right Ethereum NFT collection.

You can search for trending Ethereum NFTs on Magic Eden by clicking on ‘Discover’ on the menu bar and then ‘Collections.’

You can also browse the provided NFT list and use the filter functionality to narrow your search results. Using the filter functionality, you can filter the different NFT collections by floor price, sales, verified collections, volume, and volume change.

Additionally, you can check the project details, community engagement, and roadmap before buying.

Buy Your First NFT

Once you have found the right NFT, it’s now time to buy your first NFT. There are two ways to buy an NFT on Magic Eden: ‘Buy Now’ for immediate purchase based on the listed price, or ‘Make an Offer,’ which allows you to bid and wait.

If your preferred NFT is available to buy immediately, click the ‘Buy Now’ option and follow the prompts to complete the purchase.

By clicking ‘Approve’ in your Magic Eden Wallet, a pop-up message will confirm the successful purchase of your NFT.

To view your NFT, navigate to the ‘Portfolio’ tab in your Magic Eden Wallet and click ‘Collectibles’ to see your NFTs.

And that’s it!

That’s how to buy your first NFT in Nigeria using the Magic Eden platform.

You can view your NFT purchase in your Magic Eden Wallet by going to your wallet, click on ‘Portfolio’ then ‘Collectibles’.

Conclusion

Getting started with NFTs can seem daunting but it becomes easier with time if you have the right guides, information, and platforms. Just remember to find and use a secure crypto wallet and a prominent NFT marketplace when buying NFTs in Nigeria.

Also, you can join various NFT community groups on Discord and Telegram to grow your knowledge and explore the NFT ecosystem.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market shrank on Tuesday as traders braced for reciprocal tariffs that the US President, Mr Donald Trump, is due to announce.

Brent futures went down by 28 cents or 0.37 per cent to close at $74.49 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell by 28 cents or 0.39 per cent to $71.20 per barrel.

The American President is set to unveil new tariffs targeting specific countries that have trade surpluses with the US on Wednesday, April 2, pledging to roll back unfair trade practices.

This could be on European Union (EU) countries or even Japan, adding volatility to this week’s trading.

According to the US government, the new duties are due to take effect immediately after President Trump announces them, while a separate 25 per cent global tariff on auto imports will take effect on April 3.

In just over 10 weeks in office, the US President has implemented new 20 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports over fentanyl concerns and reinstated the 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, expanding them to nearly $150 billion in downstream products.

Additionally, a month-long exemption for most Canadian and Mexican goods from his 25 per cent fentanyl-related tariffs is set to expire on Wednesday.

However, President Trump’s threats to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil and to attack Iran fueled supply worries, limited losses.

He said on Sunday he would impose secondary tariffs of 25 per cent to 50 per cent on Russian oil buyers if Russia tried to block efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Tariffs on buyers of oil from Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, would disrupt global supply and hurt Russia’s biggest customers, China and India.

Mr Trump threatened Iran with similar tariffs and also with bombings if Tehran did not reach an agreement with the White House over its nuclear programme.

Also, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) began unwinding the production cuts by adding about 138,000 barrels per day from Tuesday.

Prices also found some support after Russia ordered Kazakhstan’s main oil export terminal to close two of its three moorings amid a standoff between Kazakhstan and OPEC+ over excess production.

As a result, Kazakhstan will have to start cutting oil output.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 6.037 million barrels for the week ending March 28, after a 4.6 million barrel drop in the prior week.

So far this year, crude oil inventories have climbed nearly 23 million barrels.