Nigeria’s state Minister for Petroleum Ibe Kachikwu announced last week that two modular refineries will be launched in Delta and Rivers state in December. The two modular refineries are part of a proposed 38 modular refineries for which licenses have been issued by Nigeria’s Federal Government. It is hoped that these refineries will help create jobs for Nigerian youth, reduce illegal oil bunkering, and eventually reduce the importation of refined oil, and oil prices.
Below is the Ventures Africa Weekly Economic Index for the week ending 26th of October 2018. 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 26th October 2018, showed that the All-Share Index appreciated by 0.20 percent from the previous week ending 19th October 2018. Market capitalization at the close of trading during the week under review was N12.014 trillion, a 0.20 percent increase from N11.990 trillion recorded the previous week. The All Share-Index for the week under review closed at N32,907.33
Top five price gainers and decliners in the week under review:
Top five price gainers
Diamond Bank Plc.
Law Union and Rocks Inc.
Fidelity Bank Plc.
Royal Exchange Plc.
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
Top five price decliners
McNichols Plc.
Lafarge Africa Plc.
Beta Glass plc.
Portland Paints & Products Nigeria Plc.
Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc.
How did the Naira fare?
The Naira appreciated slightly from N363.75/$ to N362.52/$, showing a similar trend that it had been showing in the past three months, with the Naira hovering between N359-N363 to a dollar.
How did the price of oil fare
Brent Oil prices tanked from $80.21 per barrel on the 19th of October 2018, to $76.43 per barrel on the 26th of October, its biggest monthly fall since the middle of 2016. Though the US sanctions on Iran will take effect starting November, the speculation couldn’t stop oil prices from having its largest monthly decline since July 2016. The fall has been attributed to OPEC and Russia’s preparation to oversupply the market with oil so as to counter the effect of a loss of about 1 million barrels of oil per day due to sanctions on Iran, OPEC’s third-biggest oil producer.
