Economy
Oil Prices Plummet on US Inventory Build, Inflation
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices continued plummetting on Wednesday following a surprise inventory build and uncertainty about interest rate cuts in the United States and the future of oil demand growth.
Data showed that Brent crude traded at $83.90 per barrel after losing 2.81 per cent or $2.43 as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) finished at $79.44 per barrel after depreciating by 3.04 per cent or $2.49.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released US inventory data, showing a surprise build in crude stockpiles of 7.3 million barrels for the week to April 26, compared with a substantial draw of 6.4 million barrels for the previous week that pushed prices temporarily higher last week.
Those are the highest inventory levels since June 2023.
In contrast, the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday announced a 4.9 million barrel build.
Data recently has demonstrated that inflation is proving stubborn, consumer confidence is falling and the US economy is growing more slowly than expected. This had earlier suggested that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady, with hoped-for rate cuts looking further away now.
It came as no surprise on Wednesday when the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and signalled it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs.
The US central bank chairman, Mr Jerome Powell said it was likely to take longer than previously expected for officials to gain the “greater confidence” needed to kick off interest rate cuts.
The benchmark policy rate has been held in the current 5.25 per cent -5.50 per cent range since July. Rate cuts had been anticipated as early as March of this year, but have been pushed back as incoming inflation data showed that progress towards the 2 per cent target had stalled. The personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, increased 2.7 per cent in March on a year-over-year basis.
Also weighing on oil prices was the re-emergence of the on-again-off-again prospect of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
The US and its partners continue to push for a cease-fire in Gaza with an Israeli delegation present in Cairo where negotiations are taking place.
A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Monday to discuss a proposal to release 33 hostages in exchange for a cease-fire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Five price advancers buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.88 per cent on Tuesday, March 3, as the demand for unlisted stocks continues to grow.
During the session, the market capitalisation added N46.64 billion to close at N2.524 trillion versus the Monday session’s N2.477 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 77.94 points to finish at 4,219.47 points compared with the previous day’s 4,141.53 points.
11 Plc gained N13.23 yesterday to sell at N290.23 per share compared with the preceding session’s N277.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N7.76 to N117.76 per unit from N110.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N7.05 to N84.05 per share from N70.00 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 17 Kobo to close at N1.92 per unit versus N1.75 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc advanced by 4 Kobo to settle at 49 Kobo per share versus 45 Kobo per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc dropped 37 Kobo to sell at N3.39 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.76 per unit, and NASD Plc dipped 20 to N56.21 per share from N56.41 per share.
On Tuesday, the volume of securities went down by 19.6 per cent to 1.4 million units from 1.8 million units, but the value of securities increased by 447.2 per cent to N93.4 million from N17.1 million, and the number of deals soared by 118.5 per cent to 59 deals from 27 deals.
At the close of transactions, CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 35.8 million units sold for N2.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc exchanged 122.8 million units valued at N480.4 million.
The most active stock by volume (year-to-date) was Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units worth N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.8 million units worth N480.4 million, and CSCS Plc with 35.8 million units transacted for N2.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to depreciate against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Tuesday, March 4.
During the session, it lost N6.27 or 0.46 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to close at N1,384.29/$1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,378.02/$1.
The local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.92 to quote at N1,842.22/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,846.14/£1, but gained N6.79 on the Euro to close at N1,606.19/€1 compared with Monday’s rate of N1,612.98/€1.
In the parallel market, the Naira further lost N10 against the Dollar during the trading day to settle at N1,375/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,375/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it was traded at N1,373/$1.
The exchange rate has been trending down for over 10 days following an unusual FX purchase activity by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the official market in February.
However, the Naira is expected to trade with a stable bias in line with prevailing market demand and supply dynamics, supported by an improving external reserves position.
Nigeria’s strong net reserves position has been touted as enough, as it rose 50.5 per cent year-on-year to $34.8 billion in 2025 from $23.11 billion in 2024.
The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, said that the growth in external reserves reflects stronger external sector fundamentals and sustained policy reforms.
He stated that the figures emphasised the benefits of increased transparency and credibility in foreign exchange management, boosting investor confidence, attracting stronger FX inflows, and improving reserve management practices aimed at preserving capital, ensuring liquidity, and supporting long-term sustainability.
As for the cryptocurrency market, most majors recovered from the weekend lows but couldn’t sustain it over a 24-hour trading period, leaving the market in a holding pattern while it waits for clarity on the Iran situation.
Cardano (ADA) slumped 3.5 per cent to $0.2600, Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 2.7 per cent to trade at $0.0889, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.2 per cent to $1,970.48, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 0.8 per cent to $1.35, and Solana (SOL) decreased by 0.6 per cent to sell at $85.22.
On the flip side, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 1.2 per cent to $54.60, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell for $68,207.17, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose 0.1 per cent to $632.25, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.57 per cent growth was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, resulting in the portfolios of investors swelling by N711 billion, with the market capitalisation closing at N126.199 trillion compared with the previous day’s N125.488 trillion.
In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased at the close of transactions by 1,107.73 points to 196,621.96 points from 195,514.23 points.
Buying pressure was across the key sectors of the market yesterday, with the energy index outshining after it closed higher by 4.52 per cent. The insurance counter appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the consumer goods space improved by 0.88 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.17 per cent, and the banking segment expanded by 0.04 per cent.
Investor sentiment was bullish after Customs Street finished with 39 price gainers and 35 price losers, representing a positive market breadth index.
Sunu Assurances gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.84, UAC Nigeria also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N106.70, Oando grew by 9.96 per cent to N50.25, Sovereign Trust Insurance surged 9.88 per cent to N2.67, and Fortis Global Insurance rose by 9.71 per cent to N1.13.
Conversely, Fidson lost 10.00 per cent to settle at N81.00, Mecure decreased by 9,95 per cent to N68.30, Aluminium Extrusion slipped by 9.88 per cent to N15.50, McNichols gave up 8.26 per cent to quote at N7.00, and Deap Capital shed 8.17 per cent to N6.52.
A total of 880.0 million stocks worth N44.5 billion exchanged hands in 86,761 deals on Tuesday compared with the 789.9 million stocks valued at N35.1 billion traded in 84,259 deals on Monday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 11.41 per cent, 26.78 per cent, and 2.97 per cent, respectively.
Fortis Global Insurance led the activity chart with 58.4 million equities valued at N66.0 million, Sterling Holdco traded 56.8 million shares worth N461.0 million, Japaul exchanged 47.3 million stocks for N189.0 million, Zenith Bank transacted 40.9 million equities valued at N3.8 billion, and Jaiz Bank sold 38.7 million shares worth N483.7 million.
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