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Economy

Why It’s Impossible to Sell Petrol Below N800 per Litre—NNPC

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Lubricants-For-Petrol

By Dipo Olowookere

The hope of Nigerians getting premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, below N800 per litre, at least for now when the price of crude oil is less than $80 per barrel and the official exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar is above N1,600/$1 at the currency market, may have been dashed.

This is because the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Adedapo Segun, has said the price of the commodity from unrefined crude oil is about N800 per litre.

He made this revelation while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, monitored by Business Post.

According to him, this reality might make it impossible for the company to sell PMS to Nigerians at that price because the cost of getting the final product must be added to arrive at the actual price of petrol.

“This pricing conversation is an interesting one. What are the components of the price? I just told you that the crude [oil] unrefined is N800 per litre, a barrel of crude is about $80 (actually at $72 per barrel as of Wednesday), give or take, you have about 159 litres [of PMS) in a barrel of crude, let’s approximate it to 160 litres, that gives you 50 cents per litre [and] at N1,600 per Dollar, that’s N800 per litre.

“So, the crude itself, unrefined, is N800 per litre. Then you talk about the refiner’s margin, he has to make some money and has costs like operating the plant and other overhead costs. When you are done with these costs, you move to the wholesalers.

“[The product] is transported either by vessel or trucks. The transporter also has his margin as well as the retailer. There are also costs for the regulators and other statutory fees to be paid.

“When you look at all of these costs, what will the Port Harcourt refinery do differently than what Dangote Refinery for example is doing today?

“The only difference would be that it is closer to the people of Port Harcourt and reduces the cost of transporting things like PMS from Dangote Refinery in Lagos to Port Harcourt. That is where the savings would come, but that is very marginal. The cost of transportation is very marginal in the cost-build-up for PMS,” he said.

However, he noted that what the refineries will do to Nigeria is to create competition based on market conditions.

At the moment, the price of PMS at NNPC retail stations is N1,025 per litre in Lagos, while independent marketers sell between N1,040 per litre and N1,060 per litre.

Last week, Dangote Refinery announced a slash in its ex-depot price to N970 per litre from N990 per litre.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

Economy

Unlisted Securities Exchange Slips 0.35% Post-Easter Break

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange slid by 0.35 per cent on Tuesday, April 22 after the return from the Easter break, with the market capitalisation falling by N6.79 billion to N1.917 trillion from the N1.924 trillion recorded last Thursday, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declining by 11.60 points to 3,274.78 points from the previous session’s 3,286.38 points.

Yesterday, the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 60 Kobo to close at N21.50 per unit versus the preceding session’s N22.10 per unit and Geo-Fluids Plc lost 18 Kobo to end at N1.62 per share, in contrast to last Thursday’s N1.80 per share.

On the flip side, the price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 16 Kobo to quote at N37.80 per unit versus the previous trading day’s N37.64 per unit.

During the session, there was a 40.5 per cent increase in the volume of securities transacted to 174,634 units from the 124,266 units traded in the previous trading day, but the value of transactions slumped by 43.9 per cent to N2.86 million from N5.1 million, and the number of deals dropped by 48.4 per cent to 16 deals from 31 deals.

At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 153.6 million units for N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units valued at N24.2 million.

Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most valued stock on a year-to-date with the sale of 153.6 million valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with a turnover of 14.8 million units worth N572.0 million and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.

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Economy

Naira Crumbles to N1,603/$1 at Official Market

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By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a bad day for the Naira on Tuesday, April 22 as its value plummeted against the United States Dollar by N3.23 or 0.2 per cent at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

It was the first trading session in the official market after the long Easter Break which started last Friday.

The Nigerian Naira was exchanged with the greenback yesterday at N1,603.16/$1, in contrast to the preceding trading day’s rate of N1,599.93/$1.

However, the local currency closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market at N2,120.24/£1 and N1,817.69/€1, respectively.

At the parallel market, the Naira appreciated against the US Dollar during the session by N10 to sell for N1,610/$1 compared with the previous trading session’s N1,620/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, most of the tokens improved on Tuesday, buoyed by renewed investor optimism and fresh hopes of an ease in US-China trade tensions.

Earlier on Tuesday, remarks from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly told investors at a closed-door JPMorgan event that the tariff standoff with China was unsustainable.

Mr Bessent said de-escalation would come “in the very near future,” characterizing current conditions as a “trade embargo.” However, he cautioned that a more comprehensive deal between the two nations could take even years.

Then President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the White House later, said that US tariffs on China “will come down substantially” from the current 145 per cent level, allaying concerns of a spiraling trade war.

Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 10.6 per cent to $1,784.93, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 10.3 per cent to $0.1812, Cardano (ADA) added 9.9 per cent to trade at $0.6971, and Solana (SOL) gained 7.9 per cent to close at $151.25.

Further, Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.5 per cent to $2.25, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 6.2 per cent to $93,822.95, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 5.8 per cent to $84.22, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 2.3 per cent to $617.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Oil Market Gains as US Issues Fresh Sanctions on Iran Amid Talks

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market appreciated by more than $1 per on Tuesday as new US sanctions against Iran sparked a recovery after previous selloffs.

During the trading day, Brent crude rose by $1.18 or 1.8 per cent to $67.44 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.23 or 2 per cent to close at $64.32 per barrel.

Brent and WTI fell more than 2 per cent on Monday as the US and Iran signalled progress in talks over the latter’s nuclear programme while President Donald Trump criticised the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

However, the US issued fresh sanctions targeting an Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate and his corporate network.

The Treasury Department said that the new sanctions targets Iranian liquefied petroleum gas magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network, amid ongoing talks with Tehran on its nuclear programme.

Mr Emamjomeh’s network is responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets, the US Treasury said in a statement.

Both products are a major source of revenue for Iran, helping to fund its nuclear and advanced conventional weapons programs as well as regional proxy groups including Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and the Palestinian Hamas group.

Market analysts noted that despite progress in its talks with the US, failure to reach a deal could weigh heavily on Iran’s oil exports amid tightening US sanctions.

Iran and the US agreed on Saturday to begin drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal.

Still on its geopolitical issues, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said that he believes trade tensions between the US and China will de-escalate.

The US beef with China and tariffs on virtually all US trading partners, have weighed heavily on oil prices in recent weeks as investors expressed concerns of a potential global economic slowdown that would severely erode oil demand.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slashed its economic outlook for this year to 2.8 per cent from 3.3 per cent.

Also, global finance chiefs swarmed Washington seeking deals with President Trump’s team to lower tariffs.

On the supply front, US crude oil inventories fell by nearly 4.6 million barrels last week, market sources said on Tuesday citing American Petroleum Institute (API) data.

Official data from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) on stockpiles is due later on Wednesday.

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