Economy
Oil Prices Jump 6% as Iran Escalates Attacks in Gulf
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices jumped about 6 per cent on Monday as Iran stepped up attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ships in the Middle East over the past 24 hours, the most serious escalation since a US-Iran ceasefire came into force in early April.
This pushed the price of Brent futures higher by $6.27 or 5.8 per cent to $114.44 per barrel, and raised the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude by $4.48 or 4.4 per cent to $106.42 a barrel.
Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the US Navy to free up shipping provoked the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared last month.
The UAE said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats on Monday evening as firefighters battled a blaze at a major oil industry zone.
The US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran as it sought to thwart a new US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 per cent of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the strait before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy (IGRC) issued a map that it said was expanding the areas controlled by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of an incident involving a cargo vessel about 36 nautical miles north of Dubai. The UKMTO also reported a separate incident earlier in the day near the UAE.
Oil executives from the Gulf and global oil traders have said that even when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz reopens, it will take several weeks, if not months, for flows to normalise.
Separately, the energy minister in the UAE, which left the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week, said the country owes it to its investment partners to produce what global oil markets require without restrictions, while cooperating with other crude producers.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, said they would raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June for seven members, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.
The seven members who met on Sunday were Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Oman. With the UAE leaving, OPEC+ includes 21 members, including Iran. However, in recent years, only the seven nations plus the UAE have been involved in monthly production decisions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange started the new week on an upward trajectory after it closed higher by 0.52 per cent on Monday, May 4.
This raised the market capitalisation by N12.48 billion to N2.409 trillion from last Thursday’s N2.396 trillion, and moved the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) higher by 20.86 points to 4,026.64 points from 4,005.78 points.
The unlisted securities market gained weight yesterday despite recording two price gainers and two price losers.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N8.92 to sell at N98.14 per share versus N89.24 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.12 to N77.14 per unit from N76.02 per unit.
Conversely, NASD Plc lost N3.47 to sell at N31.23 per share compared with the previous price of N34.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc declined by 26 Kobo to settle at N2.41 per unit, in contrast to the previous rate of N2.67 per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities traded by investors fell by 14.4 per cent to 751,518 units from 877,682 units, and the number of deals decreased by 44.1 per cent to 31 deals from 56 deals, while the value of securities climbed 32.8 per cent to N35.4 million from N26.7 million.
The most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis remained Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.2 million units transacted for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units sold for N1.9 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 valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week in the green territory in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday after it further appreciated against the US Dollar by N9.71 or 0.7 per cent to quote at N1,365.23/$1 compared with the previous session’s value of N1,374.94/$1.
The scenario was not different with the Pound Sterling at the same market window, where it gained N6.99 to sell for N1,851.25/£1 versus last Thursday’s closing price of N1,858.24/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N8.62 to close at N1,607.58/€1, in contrast to the N1,612.87/€1 it was traded in the previous trading day.
Similarly, at the black market, the Naira improved its value against the greenback yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the previous rate of N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it closed flat at N1,384/$1.
The Nigerian Naira put up a good performance against the Dollar during the session due to sustained monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a steady increase in foreign exchange inflows.
Specifically, stronger diaspora remittances, oil-related inflows, and a decline in speculative demand for the Dollar played pivotal roles in anchoring market expectations.
Sufficient FX liquidity has continued to keep the Naira stable. The local currency stayed strong despite an 83 per cent decline in CBN FX intervention in April to $150 million from $985 million in March.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were mixed as broader crypto markets were diverse and macro risks persisted, amid ongoing US-Iran tensions and steady central bank policy, with upcoming US earnings and jobs data seen as potential catalysts for further bitcoin volatility.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.3 per cent to sell at $80,889.94, Ethereum (ETH) jumped 0.3 per cent to $2,376.40, Cardano (ADA) increased by 0.2 per cent to $0.2529, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3399.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid 0.8 per cent to $0.1113, Ripple (XRP) went down by 0.5 per cent to $1.40, Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 0.4 per cent to $626.41, and Solana (SOL) shrank by 0.3 per cent to $84.60, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of this week on Customs Street ended on a positive note, with a 0.36 per cent leap on Monday buoyed by buying pressure in some stocks.
Business Post reports that 50 equities ended on the gainers’ chart yesterday, offsetting the selling pressure on 30 other equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Market participants are gradually getting accustomed to the extended trading window introduced last Monday, which stretched the closing hour to 4 pm from 2:30 pm.
The duo of FTN Cocoa and Consolidated Hallmark gained 10.00 per cent each to quote at N6.05 and N5.72 apiece, as CAP grew by 9.99 per cent to N159.70, Dangote Sugar increased by 9.97 per cent to N76.65, and RT Briscoe surged by 9.96 per cent to N11.70.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance declined by 9.82 per cent to N2.48, UPDC shrank by 9.18 per cent to N4.45, Learn Africa moderated by 8.06 per cent to N8.55, NEM Insurance retreated by 8.02 per cent to N28.10, and Guinea Insurance tumbled by 7.83 per cent to N1.06.
Yesterday, the insurance index was up by 1.25 per cent, the industrial goods space expanded by 1.08 per cent, the consumer goods industry improved by 0.83 per cent, and the banking sector jumped by 0.41 per cent, while the energy counter contracted by 0.89 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited went up by 883.71 points to 243,161.52 points from 242,277.81 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N64 billion to N156.058 trillion from N155.994 trillion.
A total of 967.5 million shares worth N43.8 billion were traded by investors in 122,041 deals during the session compared with the 1.9 billion shares valued at N104.3 billion in 92,353 deals last Friday.
This indicated a leap in the number of deals by 32.15 per cent, and a drop in the trading volume and value by 49.08 per cent and 58.01 per cent, respectively.
Closing the day on top of the activity chart was Access Holdings with 182.7 million units sold for N4.7 billion, AIICO Insurance transacted 58.1 million units worth N264.2 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 57.5 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Zenith Bank traded 48.9 million units worth N6.4 billion, and Chams sold 45.9 million units valued at N149.4 million.
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