Economy
Oil Prices Jump as US-China Make Progress, Strikes Hit Iran Tankers
By Adedapo Adesanya
Prices of oil pointed upward on Friday, continuing from gains made in the previous session after progress was made in the talks between the United States and China to end their trade war.
This spell good news for Nigeria as its oil benchmark, Brent crude futures traded $60.66 per barrel, up $1.56 or 2.64 percent, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.32, rising by 2.4 percent to trade at $54.87 per barrel.
The United States and China reached a partial agreement on Friday that may lead to a truce in the trade war and under this arrangement, China would agree to some agricultural concessions, while the United States would provide some tariff relief.
The US-China trade dispute has “cast a shadow” over oil demand and a failure to reach a deal would be “catastrophic” for the global market, Secretary-General of OPEC, Mr Mohammad Barkindo said.
On Thursday, the OPEC’s chief hinted at a deeper cut in the December meeting which will on December 6 see both OPEC and non-OPEC members meet to decide further course of action.
In January, OPEC+ implemented a production cut of 1.2 million barrels per day (MMbpd) and experts believe that if OPEC + cuts production by another 0.5 million barrels per day (MMbpd), it could help tighten the oil market.
Oil prices also rose sharply on Friday after Iranian state media said that two rockets had struck an Iranian tanker traveling through the Red Sea.
As a result, Business Post monitored that Brent crude futures then went up 2.4 percent with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settling 2.2 percent higher.
Iran’s foreign ministry through its spokesman Abbas Mousavi later confirmed that the tanker was hit twice, according to state TV.
“Those behind the attack are responsible for the consequences of this dangerous adventure, including the dangerous environmental pollution caused,” he said.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the region as attacks in Saudi Arabia on September 14 hit two of its largest production facilities, forcing the country to temporarily shut down roughly half of its output, or more than 5 percent of the world’s daily crude production.
This resulted in the international benchmark Brent crude rising as much as 20 percent to $71.95 per barrel, the highest jump on record.
While Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been at war with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2015 claimed the attack, Saudi Arabia and numerous officials and analysts pointed to Iran as the culprit.
Friday’s incident could push tensions between Iran and the US even higher, more than a year after President Donald Trump withdrew America from the nuclear deal and imposed sanctions which are now affecting Iran’s economy.
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.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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