Economy
Nigeria’s Inflation to Drop to 16.95% in February—FSDH
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A new report released on Thursday, March 2, 2017, by FSDH Research has revealed that the February 2017 inflation rate (year-on-year) is expected to drop to 16.95 percent from 18.72 percent recorded in the month of January 2017.
According to FSDH Research, the drop in inflation rate is expected after 15 months of consecutive increase and to “come mainly as a result of base effect.”
On March 15, 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release the inflation rate for the month of February 2017.
It was disclosed that the monthly Food Price Index (FPI) that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released yesterday shows that the Index averaged 175.5 points, 0.52 percent higher than the slightly revised value for January 2017, and 17.24 percent higher than the February 2016 figure.
With the exception of vegetable oil, the increase in the FPI represented increases in all categories of commodities used in the calculation of the FFPI.
The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 2.52 percent from the previous month and represents an eight-month high.
The sustained increase recorded in the cereal price Index is as a result of the rise in the prices of wheat, maize and rice.
The FAO Meat Price Index was up by 1.06 percent as prices of bovine and ovine meat increased sharply while those of poultry and pig meat changed marginally.
The FAO Dairy Index appreciated marginally by 0.64 percent from January 2017, and recorded the highest level since August 2014. Butter and whole milk powder were the major drivers of the Index.
Also, the FAO Sugar Price Index was up by 0.61 percent in February on the heels of reports of low production conditions in the main sugar producing regions of Brazil, India and Thailand.
On the flip side, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index was down by 4.09 percent.
The Index is however, still 19 percent up from last year.
Easing global import demand put downward pressure on the prices of palm oil and soy.
The prices of food items that FSDH Research monitored in February 2016 moved in varying directions.
The prices of tomatoes, sweet potatoes, meat and garri were up by 16.23 percent, 11.11 percent, 5.13 percent and 4.17 percent respectively; meanwhile, the prices of palm oil, Irish potatoes, rice, onions, beans and fish were down by 8.33 percent, 7.41 percent, 5.33 percent, 3.33 percent, 3.33 percent and 0.72 percent respectively.
The prices of vegetable oil and yam remained unchanged.
The movement in the prices of food items during the month resulted in 0.85 percent increase in our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index to 222.31 points.
“We also noticed increases in the prices of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels divisions between January 2017 and February 2017.
“Our model indicates that the price movements in the consumer goods and services in February 2017 would increase the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) to 217.41 points, representing a month-on-month increase of 0.78 percent.
“We estimate that the increase in the CCPI in February will produce an inflation rate of 16.95 percent lower than the 18.72 percent because of the sharp increase in the CCPI in February 2016,” the report said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
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 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed 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.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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