Economy
Oil Drops on Continued Weak Demand, Interest Rate Hike Outlook
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil dropped on Friday due to further concerns about weakened demand in China and further increases in interest rates in the United States.
Yesterday, the price of Brent crude went down by $2.16 or 2.4 per cent to $87.62 a barrel, as the price of the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude depreciated by $1.56 or 1.9 per cent to $80.08 a barrel.
Business Post reports that on a week-on-week basis, both benchmarks posted losses, with Brent down about 9 per cent and WTI roughly lower by 10 per cent.
Prices were already trading lower as supply disruption worries eased while rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in China added to anxieties over demand in the world’s largest crude importer.
China, which is looking to slow crude imports, has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, with the country’s refiners reportedly asking Saudi Arabia to cut already nominated December volumes, simultaneously cutting back on other buying, too.
The world’s largest oil importer is battling coronavirus outbreaks in numerous major cities, including Chongqing and the capital, Beijing, while it takes steps to try to ease the burden of its strict zero-COVID policy, which has caused severe economic damage and widespread frustration nearly three years into the pandemic.
Guangzhou, a manufacturing hub home to 19 million people, is currently battling China’s largest latest outbreak, with new daily infections of COVID-19 rising to 8,761 and raising concerns that it is reaching a scale matching Shanghai’s outbreak earlier this year.
A stronger US Dollar, which makes oil more expensive to non-American buyers, also pushed down crude prices.
As the European Union’s ban on Russian crude looms on December 5, the prospect of more barrels from Russia pressuring the spot crude oil market also weighed on futures prices.
Concerns about recession have also dominated the market even with a tightening of supply by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, together known as OPEC+.
OPEC+, which began a new round of supply cuts in November, holds a policy meeting on December 4.
Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates by a smaller 50 basis points at its December 13-14 policy meeting after four consecutive hikes of 75 basis points.
Economy
NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
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