Photograph — Financial Times

According to the Guardian newspaper, Nigeria’s state oil corporation, NNPC recorded a trade surplus of 80.57 billion Naira for the year 2018. However, it recorded a deficit of 5.46 billion Naira between January and August as a result of an increase in pipeline vandalism. 2,048 cases of vandalism were reported nationwide during this period.

NNPC’s Financial and Operation report showed that vandalism peaked at 257 in December. NNPC’s trade surplus of 80.57 billion Naira in 2018 has been attributed to higher financial figures from its upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

Below is the Ventures Africa Weekly Economic Index, for the week ending 15th of March 2019. This economic index gives you a glimpse into other recent activities in Nigeria’s economy as well as changes and prices that could affect the economy:

Nigerian Stock Exchange

Data released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as of 15th of March 2019, showed that the All-Share Index depreciated by 2.45 percent from the previous week ending 8th of March 2019. Market capitalization at the close of trading during the week under review was N11.615 trillion, a 2.45 percent decrease from N11.905 trillion recorded the previous week. The All Share-Index for the week under review closed at 31,142.72

Top five price gainers and decliners in the week under review:

Top five price gainers

CAP Plc.

McNichols Plc.

Royal Exchange Plc.

Cadbury Nigeria Plc.

UACN Property Development Company Plc.

Top five price decliners

Africa Prudential Plc.

FCMB Group Plc.

Zenith Bank Plc.

International Breweries Plc.

Wema Bank Plc.

How did the Naira fare?

Nigeria's-Inflation-rate
PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images

The value of the Naira against the dollar remained unchanged, with the Naira ending the week at 361NGN against the dollar on the 15th of March 2019, the same value that was recorded the week before.

How did the price of oil fare

Brent oil prices finished the week at $66.10 per barrel on the 15th of March 2019, representing an increase from $63.07 recorded a week earlier. This was a result of Saudi Arabia, the de facto head of OPEC, agreeing to further cut its oil output, targeting under 10 million barrels per day and cutting its exports to less than 7 million barrels per day.

Elsewhere on Ventures

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