By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices plunged by about 6 per cent on Thursday, their biggest decline since 2022, after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to a surprise output increase the day after the US President, Mr Donald Trump, announced sweeping new import tariffs.

Brent futures went down by $4.81 or 6.42 per cent to $70.14 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures crumbled by $4.76 or 6.64 per cent to $66.95 a barrel.

Eight key producers in the OPEC+ alliance – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman – met virtually to review global market conditions and decided to raise collective output by 411,000 barrels per day, starting in May.

The group was widely expected to implement an increase of just under 140,000 barrels per day next month.

The May hike agreed on Thursday is “equivalent to three monthly increments,” OPEC said in a statement, adding that “the gradual increases may be paused or reversed subject to evolving market conditions.”

This is up from the 135,000 barrels per day initially planned.

Oil prices were already down as investors worried that President Trump’s tariffs would escalate a global trade war, curtail economic growth, and limit fuel demand.

The American President on Wednesday unveiled a 10 per cent minimum tariff on most goods imported to the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer. It also added much higher duties on products from dozens of countries, calling them reciprocal tariffs

The White House said imports of oil, gas and refined products were exempted from the new tariffs.

However, this doesn’t mean it won’t impact prices since tariffs are digested by domestic consumers and businesses and will lead to increase in cost, which impedes the rise in economic wealth.

Analysts expect more price volatility in the near term, given the tariffs may change as countries try to negotiate lower rates or impose retaliatory levies.

On its part, analysts at UBS cut their oil forecasts for Brent by $3 per barrel over 2025-2026 to $72 per barrel.

Also on the supply angle, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data on Wednesday showed US crude inventories rose by a surprisingly large 6.2 million barrels last week.

By Adedapo Adesanya

President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed reciprocal tariffs on imports from all countries of the world.  This has been regarded as the biggest shake-up in the international trading system in decades and has the propensity to significantly affect trade.

According to the US government, there will be a baseline levy of 10 per cent on all imports and far higher tariffs on many key trading partners.

The Trump administration said, “For years, hard working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense.”

Nigeria, a key trade partner of imports and exports, faces 27 per cent in US tariffs and a 14 per cent reciprocal tariff.

Giving a breakdown of how this may impact countries particularly on the continent, African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) in a research published on Thursday noted that these tariffs could reduce export revenues, increase production costs, and disrupt investment flows, particularly for nations heavily reliant on US trade.

For Nigeria, it could affect some key exports like crude oil, cocoa, and rubber as well as impact imports like wheat, refined petroleum, and vehicles.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the US was Nigeria’s fourth top trading partner by import as it carried out 6.4 per cent of its total imports from the US, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) valued at N1.055 trillion.

As a result of this relationship, this development could lead to challenges such as reduced oil demand which could lower the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

It could also lead to higher tariffs on wheat, which translates to Nigerians facing higher cost of food particularly bread, noodles, and pastries.

Imported vehicles are not exempt, as the cost of buying cars will increase as importers look to cover their profit margins.

“Impact: Reduced oil demand could lower forex earnings, while higher tariffs on wheat and vehicles could raise local prices,” it said in a post published on X (formerly Twitter).

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.23 per cent on Wednesday, April 2, after the market resumed from a two-day holiday observed on Monday and Tuesday.

There were three price gainers and three price losers at the first trading session of the new week and month.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 23 Kobo during the trading day to close at N36.50 per unit compared with last Friday’s N36.73 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 22 Kobo to sell at N2.48 per share versus N2.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc slipped by 13 Kobo to end at N1.17 per unit, in contrast to last Friday’s closing price of N1.30 per unit.

On the flip side, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc grew by 23 Kobo yesterday to end at N2.63 per share compared with the preceding day’s N2.40 per share, IPWA Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to 55 Kobo per unit from N50 Kobo per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc marginally increased by 1 Kobo to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 35 Kobo per share.

When trading activities ended for the day, the market capitalisation lost N4.45 billion to settle at N1.910 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.915 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) shed 7.71 points to 3,308.46 points from 3,316.17 points.

During the session, the volume of securities transacted by investors increased by 625.8 per cent to 9.1 million units from the 1.3 million units, but the value of transactions went down by 17.5 per cent to N7.2 million from N8.8 million, and the number of deals rose by 100 per cent to 22 deals from 11 deals.

Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 70.2 million units sold for N23.8 million, and Geo Fluids Plc with 44.2 million units valued at N89.4 million.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, with the sale of 13.7 million units valued at N529.1 million, was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), trailed by Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.8 million units sold for N364.2 million.