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Nigeria’s Bonny Light Crude Trades at $64 as Qua Iboe Nears $66

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Bonny Light Crude Export

By Adedapo Adesanya 

Prices of crude oil closed mixed on Thursday as the global market for the commodity reacted differently to the signing into law a bill backing protesters in Hong Kong by President Donald Trump of the United States.

This act by the United States’ President fulled tensions with China, which is opposed to the protests that have lingered for months. The development came when hopes were high that both countries would sign the first phase of a trade deal.

This development, according to analysts, could deter both the United States and China who are set to hold conversation over a potential trade agreement that has affected oil demand globally.

Earlier in the day, the International benchmark, was trading down at $63.05 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI ) crude was trading at $58 per barrel.

However, by 8pm Nigerian Time (GMT +1), the Brent crude futures were trading up at $63.27, rising by 26 Cents or 0.41 percent per barrel, while the WTI crude rose to 58.24 per barrel, gaining 13 cents equivalent to 0.22 percent.

Business Post reports that the Bonny Light crude produced by Nigeria remained at $64.04 percent yesterday, with the Qua Iboe still at $65.87 per barrel and the Brass River trading at $64.92 per barrel.

The United States and China were close to finally agreeing on the first phase of a trade deal as President Donald Trump said on Tuesday but with this latest development, China has warned that it would take firm countermeasures in response to the US legislation .

The global market which has been swayed by the US-China trade deal will face this as investors expressed concerns that the move might delay further a preliminary agreement between the United States and China to put an end to their trade war.

Early in the week, top negotiators from the both countries had spoken by telephone and agreed to keep working on remaining issues that bound them.

Following this, market analysts say that investors on suspecting that the trade agreement may face real danger, may begin a sharp sell-off in December.

Prices also dropped on the report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that stockpiles in the United States went up by 1.6 million barrels last week as production rose to a record 12.9 million barrels per day (bpd) which made refinery run slower.

Still on the supply side to aid the market, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia are looking to extend existing production cuts by another three months to June 2020 when they meet in December.

The cartel and its allies agreed to cut production output by 1.2 million barrels per day in a deal that would run till March 2020 but recently there was talks that the producers including Russia would extend this till June next year.

Meanwhile the latest news reported fhg Russian oil companies have proposed not to change their output quotas as part of the global deal until the end of March, putting pressure on OPEC+ to avoid any major policy change when they meet in December 5 in Vienna, Austria.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Economy

Four Stocks Show Investors Love at NASD Valentine’s Day Trading

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NASD OTC exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four price gainers lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.54 per cent on Friday, February 14.

Okitipupa Plc improved its share price by N11.29 to close at N124.18 per unit versus N112.89 per unit, Mixta Real Estate Plc appreciated by 34 Kobo to finish at N3.76 per share versus the preceding day’s N3.42 per share, Afriland Properties Plc went up by 62 Kobo to settle at N21.03 per unit compared with N20.41 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc jumped by 5 Kobo to trade at N39.95 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N39.90 per share.

At the close of business, the market capitalization rose by N9.91 billion to N1.828 trillion from N1.818 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 17.49 points to 3,227.53 points from the 3,210.04 points recorded on Thursday.

During yesterday’s session, the volume of securities transacted by investors jumped by 1,001.3 per cent to 5.1 million units from the 465,820 units transacted in the previous trading day.

Also, the value of transactions surged by 1,025.4 per cent to N108.5 million from N9.6 million, while the number of deals went south by 10 per cent to nine deals from 10 deals recorded on Thursday.

Impresit Bakolori Plc finished the day as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 7.4 million units valued at N293.2 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units sold for N44.8 million.

Similarly, Impresit Bakolori Plc ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.6 million units sold for N23.6 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.7 million units valued at N51.2 million.

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Economy

Naira Stable at Official Market, NAFEM, Appreciates at Black Market

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sellers of Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was relatively stable against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, February 14, though it shed 10 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to sell at at N1,510.10/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,510.00/$1.

However, it depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N7.32 to quote at N1,879.42/£1 versus the N1,872.42/£1 it was sold at the previous session and lost N6.27 against the Euro to settle at N1,566.23/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing rate of N1,559.96/€1.

At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira improved its value against the US Dollar yesterday by N5 to finish at N1565/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,570/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was positive on Friday after investors overlooked recent data that frustrated the landscape.

This week, the US data released showed increment in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This shows the US Federal Reserve will likely wait till June before making changes to the current interest rate levels.

Over the last two weeks, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also acknowledged applications for Litecoin and Solana exchange traded funds (ETFs) — indicating that the SEC’s leadership under the Donald Trump administration has changed its tact to crypto-related listings.

Ethereum (ETH) expanded its value by 5.4 per cent to sell at $3,394.79, Solana (SOL) recorded a 4.4 per cent appreciation to end at $260.86, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.9 per cent to trade at $1.00, and Litecoin (LTC) saw a 2.6 per cent surge to quote at $116.78.

In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 2.1 per cent to settle at $1o4,978.31, Ripple (XRP) rose 0.7 per cent to $3.16,  Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.6 per cent to finish at $0.3572, and Binance Coin (BNB) gained 1.6 per cent to sell for $710.31, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Stock Investors Suffer Valentine’s Day Heartbreak After N697bn Loss

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Attract Stock Investors

Dipo Olowookere

It was a sad Valentine’s Day for local stock investors as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated on Friday by 1.02 per cent as a result of profit-taking.

This dragged the market capitalisation below N68 trillion because its value went down by N697 billion to N67.419 trillion from the N68.116 it closed on Thursday.

In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 1,118.09 points to 108,053.95 points from the 109,172.04 points recorded a day earlier.

The market bled yesterday as a result of the selling pressure across the key segments of the bourse except the industrial goods space, which closed higher by 0.78 per cent.

The consumer goods counter weakened by 5.01 per cent, the energy sector lost 2.34 per cent, the banking industry slumped by 0.75 per cent, and the insurance index depreciated by 0.15 per cent.

However, investor sentiment remained strong during the session. This was because the exchange ended with 38 price gainers and 28 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.

BUA Foods slipped by 10.00 per cent to N373.50, DAAR Communications went down by 9.09 per cent to 70 Kobo, Aradel Holdings shed 6.90 per cent to trade at N530.00, Livestock Feeds tumbled by 6.09 per cent to N6.01, and Beta Glass plunged by 5.74 per cent to N95.20.

Conversely, Royal Exchange gained 10.00 per cent to sell for 99 Kobo, UPDC improved by 9.88 per cent to N3.78, The Initiates advanced by 9.76 per cent to N4.05, Red Star Express surged by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, and CWG increased by 7.41 per cent to N8.70.

A total of 478.8 million equities worth N13.9 billion exchanged hands in 15,613 deals on Friday versus the 427.1 million equities valued at N9.2 billion traded in 16,342 deals on Thursday, representing a fall in the number of deals by 4.46 per cent, and a growth in the trading volume and value by 12.11 per cent and 51.09 per cent apiece.

Leading the activity chart was Sterling Holdings with 88.6 million stocks valued at N531.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 29.7 million equities worth N835.1 million, Veritas Kapital traded 21.6 million shares for N26.0 million, AIICO Insurance exchanged 20.1 million stocks worth N34.6 million, and Honeywell Flour traded 18.4 million equities valued at N267.7 million.

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