Economy
Stepn (GMT) Continues to Surge, Mushe’s (XMU) Prospects Shine Even Brighter
In the wake of its early-March ICO, Stepn’s Green Metaverse Token (GMT) has appreciated steadily, punctuated by three significant spikes in April. What can the resilient performance of this new coin tell us about the prospects for other cryptocurrencies looking to launch in the near future?
GMT is the governance token in Stepn’s metaverse and complements its move-to-earn Green Satoshi Token (GST). Its value has been supported by a shift by some consumers who have chosen to move away from play-to-earn gaming and toward the nascent move-to-earn model, which rewards physical activity. While GST’s downside risk is mitigated by its steadily growing user base, GMT has gotten a boost from the intrinsic appeal of the model’s connection with the real world. Stepn sells NFT shoes for users to wear, repair, and resell and uses the proceeds to control the availability of GMT tokens.
Mushe token (XMU) is a decentralized governance/reward token currently built on the Ethereum blockchain that is designed to bridge the realms of crypto- and fiat-based financial services. It plans to migrate in the near future to both Stellar’s and Solana’s open networks, where it will join a fast-growing ecosystem of financial institutions, Fintech firms, and financial service providers.
An April 27 announcement that GMT will soon be listed on Coinbase drove the token’s price more than 20% higher. This spike triggered a bit of a selloff, during which a bull flag formed, which was confirmed the following day. A similar bull flag, this one with a target of roughly $5.00, formed on the 28th and continued through the 29th. Overall, GMT’s price rose by more than 30% on the week, continuing a trend that has rewarded GMT owners since its ICO.
Over the same period, Mushe also experienced good growth. XMU tokens which at the opening of its presale debuted at $0.005, are now selling for $0.01952 per token, an astonishing 290%+ increase over the past two weeks. The excitement and interest in the project make it a must buy token for many crypto early birds who like to get in on the “ground floor” of projects.
Whilst GMT’s performance is buoyed by good timing. It owes its long-term prospects to a stable ecosystem and a value proposition rooted in the real lives of investors. It resembles an even more intriguing token whose presale performance suggests that big things lie ahead in those crucial respects.
XMU’s presale launched in mid-April has nearly quadrupled in value, and with more than three weeks left in stage 1 of the presale, many are hoping the token can exceed the expectations of Stepn.
Like GMT, XMU’s springtime success is primarily driven by its position between the online and real worlds. Unlike play-to-move tokens, XMU’s appeal lies in its ability to facilitate a massive pre-existing sector. The global financial services market is worth more than $22 trillion, and XMU is uniquely poised to integrate traditional financial services with the crypto sphere.
The first stage of XMU’s presale ends on May 24th and is limited to 50% of all presale tokens minted. Another 35% will become available from May 25th to June 26th, and the final 15% of XMU’s presale will be available in the nine days leading up to its official July 4th debut.
Learn more about Mushe (XMU)
Official Website: https://www.mushe.world/
Presale Registration: https://portal.mushe.world/sign-up
Telegram: https://t.me/MusheWorldXMU
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mushe_World
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mushe_world/
Economy
Nigeria’s Positive Trade Balance Grows 43.6% in Q3 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria recorded another positive trade balance in the third quarter of 2024, growing 43.6 per cent as the country’s total merchandise trade stood at N35.2 trillion.
A positive trade balance (surplus) occurs when there is a higher export value than import as it stood at N5.8 trillion, in the period under review.
This represents an increase of 81.4 per cent compared to the value recorded in the corresponding period of 2023 and a rise of 13.3 per cent over the value recorded in the preceding quarter.
In the quarter under review, exports accounted for 58.3 per cent of total trade with a value of N20.5 trillion, showing an increase of 98 per cent over the value recorded in the third quarter of 2023 at N10.4 trillion and 16.8 per cent compared to the value recorded in Q2 2024 at N17.5 trillion.
Nigeria’s export trade continued to be dominated by crude oil exports.
In the third quarter of 2024, crude oil export was valued at N13.4 trillion representing 65.4 per cent of total exports while the value of non-crude oil exports stood at N7.1 trillion accounting for 34.6 per cent of total exports; of which non-oil products contributed N2.5 trillion or 12.2 per cent of total exports.
On the other hand, the share of imports accounted for 41.7 per cent of total trade in the third quarter of 2024 with the value of imports amounting to N14.5 trillion in Q3, 2024.
This value indicates an increase of 62.3 per cent compared to the value recorded in Q3 2023 (N9.0 trillion) and 8.7 per cent over the value recorded in Q2 2024 (N13.5 trillion).
China remains Nigeria’s highest trading partner on the import side in the third quarter of 2024, followed by India, Belgium, United States of America, and Malta.
The most traded commodities imported during the quarter were Motor spirit ordinary, Gas oil, Durum wheat, Cane sugar meant for sugar refinery and used vehicles, with diesel or semidiesel engines, of cylinder capacity >2500cc.
The top five trading export partners were Spain, the United States of America, France, the Netherlands and Italy.
The most exported commodities included crude oil, liquefied natural gas, other petroleum gases in a gaseous state, Floating or submersible drilling or production platforms, and superior-quality Cocoa beans.
Economy
OPEC+ Retains Nigeria’s Output Benchmark at 1.5mbpd
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s daily oil production quota will remain unchanged at 1.5 million barrels per day after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday deferred the commencement of its proposed oil production cuts by a year, until the end of 2026.
The move was necessitated by weak demand and rising output by non-members of the international oil cartel.
OPEC sets a production target for its members as a way of curbing oversupply and ensuring price stability.
The alliance agreed to extend the 2 million barrels per day and the 1.65 million barrels per day of cuts until the end of 2026 from the end of 2025 respectively, according to statements issued by the group on Thursday.
However, Nigeria which has been a laggard struggled for years to meet its monthly allocation of 1.78 million barrels per day minus condensates as prescribed by the group.
The country quota was revised then downwards to 1.5 million barrels per day in 2022.
Under its formal output strategy, the broader OPEC+ coalition is now restricting its combined production to 39.725 million barrels per day until December 31, 2026, after previously only applying this quota throughout 2025.
However, eight OPEC+ members — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman — will now extend their 2.2 million barrels per day voluntary production decline into the first quarter, and will begin hiking production incrementally between April and September 2026.
Nigeria, unable to meet its 1.5 million barrels per day, does not belong to this exclusive group. OPEC data puts Africa’s largest oil producer numbers at 1.3 million barrels on average.
Saudi Arabia’s quota will stand at 10.47 million barrels per day; Russia’s at 9.94 million barrels per day; Iraq’s at 4.43 million barrels per day production and Algeria’s at 1 million barrels per day output.
Despite these sets of production trims and ongoing conflict threatening the hydrocarbon-rich Middle Eastern region, global oil prices have remained subdued for the better part of this year, under pressure from a tepid demand outlook.
Brent crude, which Nigeria leverages its headline crude against, is currently trading at $72 per barrel.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has set an ambitious 2025 production target of 2.06 million barrels per day, inclusive of condensates, as outlined in the draft 2025 appropriation bill of N48.7 trillion. The bill also sets a $77 per barrel benchmark to fund the budget.
Economy
LCCI Predicts 4% GDP Growth For 2024 Amid Economic Challenges
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) foresees Nigeria’s economy closing the current year in positive growth up to 4 per cent.
This was disclosed by the president of the chamber, Mr Gabriel Idahosa, at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday in Lagos.
The LCCI forecast builds up on recent gross domestic product (GDP) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which points out that Nigeria’s economy grew 3.46 per cent in the third quarter of 2024.
The body said achieving faster recovery requires the fiscal and monetary sides of the economy to promote policies that would encourage private capital flows to the economy.
According to him, fiscal and monetary authorities need to develop a medium-term growth plan anchored on boosting local production, supporting ease of doing business and attracting private investment.
Mr Idahosa said the plan should also focus on developing infrastructure, business-friendly regulatory policies, economic diversification, and employment generation.
“Nigeria is presently confronted with a myriad of challenges including sustained double-digit inflation, a steadily rising debt profile, revenue mobilisation challenges and others.
“We have advocated for a well-coordinated synergy between the fiscal and monetary authorities in engagement with the private sector to navigate the uncertain economic terrain.
“We will continue to engage with government in creating an enabling business environment where the private sector is empowered to grow, create jobs and generate revenue for the government,” he said.
Addressing some economic indices, the LCCI president noted that the private sector was currently plagued with increased borrowing costs and a pressured foreign exchange market.
He said recent hikes in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) had directly translated to higher interest rates, making it more expensive for businesses to access credit for working capital, expansion, and sustainability.
He said that rate hikes alone would not curb inflation without resolving the challenges of the real sector of the economy.
Mr Idahosa added that the country needed to diversify its exports by boosting local crude refining capacity production of petrochemical products and accelerating reforms in the and gas sector.
“The chamber looks forward to the sustained implementation of naira payments for crude oil sales to the Dangote refinery and other local refineries, which started on October 1, 2024.
“We urge the government to summon the courage to be consistent with the oil and gas sector reforms and implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) fully.
“We see the long-term gains of these reforms if they are implemented under a conducive regulatory environment,” he said.
Speaking on the projected N47.9 trillion 2025 budget presented recently by President Bola Tinubu, Mr Idahosa said the key parameters and assumptions on which the budget was proposed were too optimistic in the face of some economic and social indicators.
On her part, Mrs Chinyere Almona, Director General, LCCI, urged government to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive to enhance their productivity and contribute more meaningfully to the economy.
She noted that while the year was filled with very difficult reforms, businesses should stay the course on these reforms and things would improve.
Mrs Almona urged businesses to think of alternatives to improve efficiency, attract finance and be more productive, while hoping for the next year to be better.
She also called on authorities to focus on non-oil exports to attract more foreign exchange.
“When we talk of exports, we are not just talking of exporting raw materials but processing materials to command top dollar in the export market.
“At the chamber, we are looking for ways to improve our export and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) groups to improve their capacity and productivity to export more, ” she said.
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