By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 12 by N1.71 to trade at N1,421.46/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,423.17/$1.

However, the local currency further depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N3.81 to close at N1,915.84/£1 compared with last Friday’s price of N1,912.03/£1 and lost N3.55 on the Euro to quote at N1,661.68/€1 versus N1,658.13/€1.

In the same vein, the domestic currency depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX desk during the trading session by N4 to to settle at N1,431/$1 compared with the previous trading day’s rate of N1,427/$1 and closed flat in the black market at N1,490/$1.

The appreciation of the Nigerian currency against its American counterpart in the official market was supported by foreign portfolio investors’ inflow with support from non-bank corporate supply, leaving it within the N1,350/$1 – N1,450/$1.

“We anticipate that the CBN will emphasise exchange rate stability over rapid appreciation through 2026, supported by prudent policy execution and effective reserve management,” Coronation Merchant Bank research said in an update.

Despite a differential against other currencies, market analysts noted that stronger external inflows from FPIs, improving current account dynamics, and more disciplined FX management by the authorities, will give the Naira stronger footing.

As for the cryptocurrency market, most tokens tracked by this newspaper were largely down with traders seeing the market settle into equilibrium after leverage was flushed and liquidity thinned.

Market analysts noted that with spot demand soft and no clear institutional catalyst, price discovery continues to shift to where thinner liquidity and narrative trades can overwhelm fundamentals.

Litecoin (LTC) lost 4.6 per cent to trade at $76.25, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to $140.23, Cardano (ADA) slid by 1.4 per cent to $0.3914, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.9 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.8 per cent to $3,128.74, and Dogecoin (DOGE) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $0.1392.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $908.87, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 0.1 per cent to $91,916.73, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited kicked off the week on a positive note after it closed higher by 0.58 per cent on Monday amid sustained buying pressure.

The stock market was bullish as a result of bargain-hunting activities across the key sectors of the bourse, with the energy index growing by 1.49 per cent.

Further, the insurance space expanded by 0.88 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.86 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.81 per cent, the commodity segment soared by 0.79 per cent, and the consumer goods landscape advanced by 0.57 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 946.61 points to 163,244.69 points from 162,298.08 points and the market capitalisation surged by N745 billion to N104.521 trillion from N103.776 trillion.

The market breadth index of Customs Street was positive yesterday with 49 price gainers and 20 price losers, representing a strong investor sentiment.

The quintet of eTranzact, UPDC, McNichols, Red Star Express and RT Briscoe led the gainers’ chart during the session after chalking up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N16.50, N5.50, N6.05, N11.55, and N3.96, respectively.

However, Champion Breweries topped the losers’ table after it shed 8.51 per cent to quote at N15.05, Eunisell shrank by 8.01 per cent to N156.20, Ikeja Hotel crumbled by 8.00 per cent to N36.80, Guinea Insurance depreciated by 7.30 per cent to N1.27, and Omatek moderated by 3.13 per cent to N1.24.

The activity chart had Sovereign Trust Insurance on top after a turnover of 307.5 million shares valued at N1.0 billion, Fidelity Bank followed with 158.4 million equities sold for N3.1 billion, Linkage Assurance traded 118.7 million stocks worth N213.9 million, Mutual Benefits exchanged 31.5 million shares for N130.4 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 31.0 million stocks valued at N79.6 million.

At the close of trades, a total of 1.2 billion equities worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 59,359 deals versus the 624.1 million equities valued at N18.5 billion traded in 43,816 deals last Friday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 92.28 per cent, 3.78 per cent, and 35.47 per cent apiece.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose on Monday amid ​worries that Iran’s exports could decline as the sanctioned member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cracked down on anti-government demonstrations.

Brent futures increased by 53 cents or 0.8 per cent to $63.87 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanded by 38 cents or 0.6 per cent to $59.50 per barrel.

Iran said it was communicating with the US government as President Donald Trump weighed responses to a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, among the stiffest challenges to clerical rule since ‌the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On Sunday, the US president said officials may meet Iranian officials. He also threatened possible military action over lethal violence against protesters.

Iran has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, with around 9 per cent of the global total, coming only behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. It also has the second-largest proven natural gas reserves, with 17 per cent of the global share, and is the third-largest crude producer and fourth-largest exporter within OPEC.

In recent months, Iran has produced record levels of oil, even in the face of US sanctions on its energy exports and the bombings conducted by Israel on its capital.

Despite the ongoing sanctions, Iran has gradually built up its output once again, from around 2.9 million barrels per day in 2019 to between 3.2 and 4 million barrels per day in 2024, depending on estimates.

Capping gains were expectations ‌that supplies could rise from Venezuela, another sanctioned member of OPEC as it is expected to resume oil exports soon following the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.

President Trump said last week the government in the South American country was set to hand over as much as 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US.

Reuters reported that oil companies have been racing to find tankers and prepare operations to ship the crude safely.

Investors are also watching the risk of disruptions in supply in two other OPEC allies – Russia and Azerbaijan – as Ukraine’s attacks have targeted Russian energy facilities while the country faces prospects of tougher US sanctions. In Azerbaijan oil exports dropped to 23.1 million tonnes in 2025 from 24.4 million tonnes in 2024.

Market players are also looking at developments with US interest rates and the Federal Reserve after the Trump administration opened a criminal investigation into the head of the US central bank, Mr Jerome Powell.

The Federal Reserve chair ​called the move a “pretext” to influence interest rates, a point that the US president has always hammered upon.

Lower interest rates could boost economic growth and oil demand by reducing borrowing costs, but could hinder the central bank’s efforts to control inflation.