Economy
What Nigeria Gains From US-Iran Crisis
By Adedapo Adesanya
On Friday, January 3, 2020 the United States president, Mr Donald Trump, ordered an airstrike, which killed top Iranian General, Mr Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the country.
This spurred hike in oil prices as Brent crude oil futures, the global benchmark, coursed more than 4 percent, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil jumped more than 3 percent due to the escalation of the geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
For a country like Nigeria, whose mainstay is oil, this development turned out to be a blessing because global events, which badly affect prices oil, have always been a major source of worry for government due to low revenues generated from the sale of the black gold.
But with the ongoing tensions from the assassination of the Iranian military chief, more money would continued to be raked from the sale of crude oil at higher prices.
In fact, Nigeria will like prices of oil to continue to trend higher at the global market because in the 2020 budget, the benchmark for crude oil was pegged at $60 per barrel.
Since last Friday, when the unmanned US drone attacked Mr Soleimani, prices have hovered around $70 (on Friday, January 3), $69 dollars over the weekend, and as the time of this report at $68 per barrel. This means prices are still in a safe net for the country.
By estimates, Nigeria produces over 1.5 million barrels of oil per day and at with an average increase of $69 per barrel since Friday, according to analysis by Business Post, the country has raked over $400 million so far from the sale of the commodity.
However, analysts have noted that a further escalation of the Mideast tensions could drive prices up as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to inflict “severe retaliation” on those involved in Mr Soleimani’s death, and following this, the United States has also strengthened its military presence in and around the region.
A retaliation means that oil will rise with analysts saying that Iran’s could initiate attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, as it did in 2019 with a British tanker and a number of drones. This would provide support for oil prices but would be not hold on for much longer.
A bigger occurrence would be an attack on oil infrastructure of US allies in the Persian Gulf such as the September strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure, which led to a loss of 5.7 million barrels per day of oil production capacity when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attacked the facilities.
The biggest would be if Iran closed off the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as a passageway for a major portion of the oil supply. Such an action would limit access to Asian markets where China, India, Japan and South Korea, some of the largest consumers are located.
However, even with the possible rise, oil prices face huge pressure from non-OPEC supplier like the United States, Brazil, and Norway, who would want to increase their output and eventually crash prices or lead the market to an oversupply which the OPEC and its allies – which includes Nigeria took a decision to curb by reducing oil production by 1.7 million barrels per day to help prices and stop oil glut this year.
But whichever way, Nigeria will continue to cash in on the crisis and use the opportunity to shore up its external reserves, which have depleted in recent times due to low prices of crude oil.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.36 per cent on Wednesday, August 19, slicing the market capitalisation of the platform by N9.41 billion to N2.60 trillion from N2.610 trillion, and reducing the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 15.67 points to 4,333.09 from 4,348.76 points.
The securities depository company lost N10.30 at midweek to close at N88.12 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N90.02 per share.
This offset the 38 Kobo gained by Golden Capital Plc during the session. The stock traded at N14.05 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N13.67 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities soared by 557.2 per cent to 747,429 units from 113,728 units, the value of securities jumped by 934.0 per cent to N9.4 million from N375.7 million, and the number of deals increased by 35.5 per cent to 42 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.9 million units worth N5.8 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira weakened by N7.09 or 0.53 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, August 19, to N1,350.41/$1 from the previous rate of N1,343.32/$1.
The local currency also significantly depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday, by N19.87, to close at N1,839.13/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,819.26/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N18.07 to end at N1,574.31/€1 versus Tuesday’s price of N1,556.24/€1.
However, at the black market, the Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank forex desk at N1,357/$1.
Interbank FX turnover increased by 1.72 per cent to $370.980 million from $364.709 million, according to the daily update by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
On the other hand, the number of interbank FX deals declined to 100, from 108 the previous day, reflecting a moderate slowdown in activities.
Available data from the central bank showed that demand for FX by end-users in Nigeria fell by 35.23 per cent to $3.42 billion in April 2026, easing pressure on the Dollar market as the Naira recorded modest gains.
This occurred as FX utilisation across economic sectors declined during the month, while the Naira strengthened at the official market. Across several sectors, including oil, food, and manufacturing, there were drops.
The monthly average exchange rate improved 1.38 per cent to N1,361.22 per Dollar in April from N1,379.98/$1 in March. At the end of the review month, the domestic currency closed at N1,374.94 per Dollar at NAFEM, compared with N1,386.72/$1 at the end of March.
In the cryptocurrency market, coins recorded massive jumps following the US Treasury’s decision to at least double bond buyback operations and was reinforced by a bond-market surge and President Donald Trump’s call for Congress to advance crypto market-structure legislation.
The American President urged Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, calling for “a fair version” of the market structure bill that has been stuck in the Senate.
Ethereum (ETH) surged by 18.2 per cent to $2,261.93, Solana (SOL) rose by 11.4 per cent to $85.77, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 10.5 per cent to $1.10, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 8.6 per cent to $69,784.82, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $0.0751, Cardano (ADA) rose by 4.8 per cent to $0.1842, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 4.5 per cent to $628.45, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.1 per cent to $0.3330, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Those who purchased the N40 billion bond issued by Geregu Power Plc in 2022 but did not receive payments last month as expected have reportedly now been paid by the energy company.
Geregu Power, listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, was in the news recently over the repayment default on July 28, 2026, triggering panic in the capital market.
Last week, the organisation admitted the issues caused by this default, but said, “Discussions and engagements are ongoing, and the company will continue to act in good faith in fulfilling its responsibilities.”
It further disclosed that “relevant stakeholders and advisers [are being actively engaged] regarding the resolution of the various challenges and is committed to achieving an orderly and mutually beneficial outcome.”
The latest information indicated that N6.03 billion owed investors under the firm’s N40.09 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond has been cleared.
This is expected to bring relief to investors, who may have feared the worst after the entity failed to meet its debt obligations when due.
However, on the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the status of the debt instrument remains as “credit default in the 8th coupon payment and 4th bullet principal repayment.”
As of the time of filing this report, Geregu Power has yet to confirm the clearing of the N6 billion debt.
