Economy
Oil Prices Extend Gains for Nine Successive Sessions
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude prices remained in the positive terrain on Wednesday, marking a ninth straight session of gains in which it reached pre-pandemic levels, driven by producers’ supply cuts and hopes that vaccine rollouts will drive a recovery in demand.
At the midweek trading session, the Brent crude gained 19 cents or 0.31 per cent to sell at $61.28 per barrel, while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by 13 cents or 0.22 per cent to trade at $58.49 per barrel.
The gain yesterday was further supported by an unexpected drop in the US crude stockpiles which dropped 6.6 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, compared with an expected 985,000-barrel increase forecast.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) had reported a draw in crude oil inventories of 3.5 million barrels for the week ending February 5 on Tuesday.
The drop in inventories in the largest consuming nation for the week ended February 5 was as a result of higher refining activity and lower imports.
The bullish market is also being supported by expectations for another large dose of fiscal stimulus by the US, with President Joe Biden calling for an aid package worth $1.9 trillion to boost recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
However, in reality, a final package is expected to be announced which is lesser than the initial amount but closer to it than had previously been expected.
One cannot also overlook the impact of Saudi Arabia singlehandedly cutting its oil production in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+.
In addition, coupled with the recent weakness in the US Dollar, they also act as strong pillars for the commodity to find its support.
However, the EIA, a monthly report released Tuesday, said it expects global consumption of petroleum and liquid fuels to rise by 5.4 million barrels per day this year, which is down by 200,000 barrels per day from the forecast given in January.
Others forecast that supply will undershoot demand in 2021 as more people get vaccinated and start going away on trips and working in offices once lockdowns are lifted and economic reorganisation commences.
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.
