CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS, 10/03/2025

PETROL IMPORTS JUMP 105% TO N15TN – NBS REPORT

Nigeria’s petrol imports surged in 2024, doubling despite an increase in domestic refining capacity, highlighting the country’s continued reliance on imported fuel, according to findings by The PUNCH. The latest data from the foreign trade statistics report of the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the cost of petrol imports rose by 105.3 per cent to N15.42tn in 2024 from the N7.51tn recorded in 2023. This sharp increase in fuel import expenditure came at a time when expectations were high for a decline in reliance on foreign supply following significant investments in local refining. The commencement of operations at the 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity Dangote Petroleum Refinery last year and ongoing revival efforts at the other local refineries were expected to reduce import dependence. However, existing data suggests that these refineries have yet to reach full production capacity to meet domestic demand. Over the past five years, Nigeria’s petrol import bill has steadily risen. In 2020, the country spent N2.01tn on fuel imports, more than doubling to N4.56tn in 2021. By 2022, the figure further increased to N7.71tn before slightly declining to N7.51tn in 2023. However, in 2024, fuel import expenditure surged to an all-time high of N15.42tn, marking the largest petrol import bill in Nigeria’s history.

10/03/2025 – EQUITY MARKET SHEDS N476BN IN ONE WEEK

The Nigerian stock market recorded a decline, shedding N476.0bn in one week as investors traded a total of 1.818bn shares worth N47.226bn in 64,222 deals.This represents a slight drop compared to the 1.848bn shares valued at N51.387bn exchanged in 63,090 deals the previous week. Market capitalisation fell by 0.71 per cent to N66.717tn from the previous week’s level, while the All-Share Index dropped by 1.19 per cent to close at 106,538.60 points, reflecting a broad decline across major indices.The Financial Services Industry maintained its dominance on the activity chart, leading by volume with 1.260bn shares worth N27.817bn traded in 29,800 deals. This accounted for 69.31 per cent and 58.90 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The consumer goods industry followed, with 123.336m shares worth N3.069bn traded in 7,793 deals, while the services industry recorded 118.931m shares valued at N832.602m in 3,730 deals. Zenith Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Access Holdings Plc were the most actively traded stocks, accounting for 451.558m shares worth N13.583bn in 10,055 deals. This represented 24.84 per cent of total turnover volume and 28.76 per cent of market value.

NAIRA REVERSES GAINS, DEPRECIATES AT OFFICIAL, PARALLEL MARKETS

In the past week, the naira reversed some of the gains it had made in recent times as it depreciated against the United States dollar at both the parallel and official markets. At the close of trading in the past week, the naira weakened by 1.66 per cent week-on-week, closing at 1,517.24/$ from 1,492.49/$ the previous week. At the parallel market, a similar trend was observed with the naira easing to an average of 1,520/dollar, reflecting a gradual uptick in demand for the greenback.According to Bureau De Change operators, the naira lost as much as N70 to close at 1,570/dollar at the end of the week. Naira had closed February 2025 with an 8.5 per cent gain month-on-month on the parallel market to settle at 1,490/$, while it closed at 1,500/$ on the official market, indicating a 1.7 per cent m/m decline, and analysts had a positive outlook for the currency in March barring shocks. AIICO Capital Limited, in an investor note, fingered increased demand for dollars by foreign portfolio investors and local corporates for the depreciation.“The naira depreciated this week due to tight dollar liquidity and increased demand from foreign portfolio investors and local corporates,” AIICO Capital Limited said, adding that offshore demand remained strong, pushing rates higher despite interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

FX RESERVES DROPPED BY $1.3BN IN FEBRUARY – CBN REPORT

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $1.31bn in February 2025, reflecting sustained external pressures amid the recent appreciation of the naira. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that reserves declined from $39.72bn on January 31, 2025, to $38.42bn on February 28, 2025, representing a 3.3 per cent drop within the month. The decline in February was slightly higher than the $1.16bn drop recorded in January, highlighting the continued strain on the country’s external reserves. The steady depletion of reserves has raised concerns amid rising speculations that the apex bank’s sustained interventions in the foreign exchange market, aimed at bridging liquidity gaps and stabilising the naira, have come at the cost of reducing external reserves. Despite this, the local currency strengthened significantly against major foreign currencies in February, suggesting that the CBN’s efforts have had some positive impact in restoring confidence in the market. Nigeria’s reserves recorded a consistent decline throughout February, with no single day of increase. At the beginning of the month, reserves stood at $39.60bn on February 3, dropping to $39.54bn on February 4, signalling the start of a downward trend.

NGX RECORDS FIRST GAIN IN MARCH WITH N216BN PROFIT

The Nigerian Exchange recorded its first gain in March as renewed investor interest drove the market capitalisation up by N216bn. Following the day’s gain, the total market capitalisation of the equity market now stands at N66.9tn. At the close of trading on Thursday, the All-Share Index rose by 344.24 points, or 0.32 per cent, to settle at 106,780.72 points. Despite this gain, the index still shows a one-week decline of 0.83 per cent. However, it maintains a four-week increase of 1.28 per cent and a year-to-date gain of 3.74 per cent, indicating overall market stability. The trading session saw a total of 375.7 million shares valued at N10.18bn exchanged in 11,447 deals. This represented a four per cent decline in volume and a 10 per cent drop in turnover compared to the previous trading session on Wednesday. A total of 128 stocks participated in the day’s trading, with 35 recording gains, 15 declining, and others remaining unchanged.