Economy
Oil Sustains Growth as OPEC Further Signifies Output Cut
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil traded higher on Friday, boosted by further signals that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could cut output.
Brent crude futures rose $1.65 to settle at $100.99 a barrel while the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 54 cents to settle at $93.06 a barrel.
Overall, Brent gained 4.4 per cent for the week, while WTI recorded a 2.5 per cent.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the latest OPEC+ member to state it aligns with Saudi Arabia’s thinking on crude markets.
Reuters reported that although there has been no official statement from the producer, a source familiar with the matter revealed.
OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, flagged the possibility of introducing production cuts to balance the oil market.
Following the statement by Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, there has been a flurry of support expressed by OPEC+ member states, including Iraq, Venezuela, and Kazakhstan, about OPEC’s readiness to intervene and restore balance in the oil market.
Oman, a member of the alliance, also said it supports OPEC+ efforts that maintain global markets stability in the face of fluctuations and challenges, the Omani oil ministry said in a tweet on Friday.
Prices were, however, pressured as the US Federal Reserves Chair Jerome Powell said tight monetary policy may be in store “for some time” to fight inflation, meaning slower growth, a weaker job market, and “some pain” for households and businesses.
In a speech kicking off the Jackson Hole central banking conference in Wyoming, Mr Powell said the US central bank will raise rates as high as needed to restrict growth and would keep them there “for some time” to bring down inflation that is running at more than three times the Fed’s 2 per cent goal.
He said, “Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth.
“While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labour market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”
As that pain increases, Mr Powell said, people should not expect the Fed to dial back its monetary policy quickly until the inflation problem is fixed.
Meanwhile, it was reported that some European Central Bank policymakers want to discuss a 75 basis point interest rate hike at a September 8 policy meeting, even if recession risks loom, as the inflation outlook is deteriorating.
In US supply, the oil drilling rig count, an indication of future production, rose by 4 to 605 in the week to Aug. 26, Baker Hughes Co said on Friday.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 0.55 per cent on Thursday, April 24 after the prices of three stocks on the platform ended in green.
This added N10.48 billion to the market capitalisation of the bourse, closing at N1.918 trillion compared with the N1.908 trillion it ended in the preceding session.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up during the session by 17.90 points to 3,276.98 points from the previous session’s 3,259.08 points.
The market was dominated by bargain-hunting activities due to renewed investor confidence. None of the securities on the NASD ended in red yesterday.
However, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N1.97 to close at N21.71 per unit compared with Wednesday’s price of N19.74 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 15 Kobo to end at N37.95 per share, in contrast to midweek’s value of N37.80 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 8 Kobo to settle at N1.70 per unit versus the preceding day’s price of N1.62 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities transacted by the market participants increased by 19,558.9 per cent to 206.2 million units from 1.05 million units, the value of transactions jumped by 13,509.2 per cent to N354.1 million from N2.6 million, and the number of deals rose by 245.5 per cent to 38 deals from 11 deals.
When trading activities finished for the day, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 250.9 million units worth N441.0 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 14.9 million units worth N573.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units valued at N520.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira slightly appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, April 24, after coming under pressure in two consecutive trading session.
Yesterday, it gained 0.03 per cent or 50 Kobo on the greenback to sell for N1,603.01/$1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,603.51/$1, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Similarly, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N9.05 to close at N2,128.50/£1 compared with Wednesday’s value of N2,137.55/£1 and gained N17.69 against the Euro to finish at N1,819.89/€1, in contrast to midweek’s value of N1,837.58/€1.
However, in the black market, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the Dollar during the trading session by N2 to settle at N1,607/$1 versus Wednesday’s value of N1,605/$1.
The local forex market reacted to the assurance given by apex bank in the ongoing IMF Spring Meetings in the US that it would continue to drive policies that will support the FX market.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market witnessed recoveries after profit-taking amid declining US Dollar index, which is largely tied to mixed signals out of the world’s largest economy.
Profit-taking and conflicting messages from the President Donald Trump of the United States over a trade war with China have dominated the market, including comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that there’s no unilateral plan to lift US tariffs on Chinese goods, contradicting Trump’s suggestion that tariff rates could drop in the coming weeks.
Mr Trump has signaled he would not remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and suggested a softer stance on trade with China.
Investors continue to struggle to interpret the policy direction as President Trump also hinted at a “fair deal” with the world’s second-largest economy.
Yesterday, Cardano (ADA) rose by 4.7 per cent to $0.7191, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 4.2 per cent to $0.1811, Solana (SOL) expanded by 2.8 per cent to $152.84, and Litecoin (LTC) improved by 2.4 per cent to $84.66.
Further, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 1.3 per cent to $2.13, Bitcoin (BTC) added 1.1 per cent to sell at $93,534.98, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 0.7 per cent to $608.65, and Ethereum (ETH) increased by 0.2 per cent to $1,774.57, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bulls tightened their grip on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday with a further 0.75 per cent rise despite profit-taking in the banking sector.
Data showed that the banking index went down by 0.20 per cent during the session and the commodity sector closed flat.
However, the insurance space grew by 4.32 per cent, the consumer goods counter improved by 2.35 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 1.29 per cent, and the energy industrial appreciated by 0.27 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 790.59 points to 106,074.26 points from 105,283.67 points and the market capitalisation advanced by N508 billion to N66.667 trillion from N66.159 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained bullish yesterday as Customs Street ended with 43 price gainers and 16 price losers, representing a positive market breath index.
Cadbury Nigeria, Eterna, Ikeja Hotel, and Nestle Nigeria all chalked up 10.00 per cent each to quote at N24.20, N36.30, N11.00, and N1,100.00, respectively, and Academy Press gained 9.96 per cent to trade at N2.87.
However, John Holt lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N6.30, Haldane McCall declined by 9.96 per cent to N4.70, Multiverse depreciated by 9.83 per cent to N7.80, Guinea Insurance depleted by 8.57 per cent to 64 Kobo, and Japaul tumbled by 6.19 per cent to N1.97.
The most active stock for the session was Access Holdings with the sale of 48.5 million units valued at N1.2 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 40.4 million units worth N801.8 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 23.7 million units for N1.1 billion, GTCO sold 17.1 million units worth N1.0 billion, and Chams transacted 13.7 million units valued at N30.1 million.
At the close of trades, a total of 328.3 million equities worth N10.4 billion exchanged hands in 12,142 deals versus the 744.8 million equities valued at N18.3 billion traded in 11,226 deals at midweek, indicating a rise in the number of deals by 8.16 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and value by 55.92 per cent, and 43.17 per cent, respectively.
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