Economy
New Oil Cut, US-China Tension to Dampen Market This Week
By Adedapo Adesanya
After oil prices marked another consecutive monthly gain in July, the market will likely face pressures of possible oversupply this week as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies kickstart another phase in the reduction of record output this month.
OPEC+ will from this month pump about 1.5 million barrels more than it did in July as it starts to unwind its historic virus-driven output curbs, with Russia already having lifted its output slightly last month.
Investors will be worried about supply gluts and a recovery in oil prices from record lows is expected to encourage U.S. shale producers to ramp up output.
The Brent, for the fourth month, appreciated in July, while the US crude gained for the third month. Both oil futures rose from depths hit in April when much of the world was in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The increase in supply comes as coronavirus cases accelerated across the world, a huge problem with recovering demand. In one of the largest consuming cities – California, a lockdown has been reimposed. Also, Manila and Australia’s second-biggest city, Victoria, have instituted a curfew to stem the spread.
Meanwhile, tensions between the United States and China continued to add to worries with the US Secretary of State, Mr Michael Pompeo, flagging measures against many of Chinese-owned software deemed to pose national-security risks.
Market analysts note that it is a precarious time for producers to be adding more supply to the market, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. predicting there may not be a full demand recovery until next year.
With a continued rise in cases, demand is in question and added to mix is the concerns the rising tensions between the US and China.
Mr Pompeo’s comments suggest a possible widening of the US measures beyond TikTok, the popular music-video app owned by ByteDance Limited, one of China’s biggest tech companies.
President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he plans to ban TikTok from the US, but his decision hasn’t been announced and that might come this week.
Also, the US dollar has strengthened a little bit and its full recovery will likely resume pressure.
Meanwhile, shale explorers reduced drilling last week after a gain in oil prices failed to revive confidence. The number of active rigs fell by 1 to 180, bringing it back to the lowest level since June 2009, according to data.
As at the time of this report, Brent crude was facing downward at $43.15 per barrel while the West Texas Intermediate had dropped below the $40 level at $39.80 per barrel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
