CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS, 12/05/2025
May 12, 2025
OPEC APRIL OIL OUTPUT FALLS
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ oil output edged lower in April despite a scheduled output hike taking effect, a Reuters survey found. The decline was led by a cut in Venezuelan supply on renewed United States attempts to curb the flows and smaller drops in Iraq and Libya. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 26.60 million barrels per day last month, down 30,000 bpd from March’s total, with cuts by some producers offsetting higher Iranian supply, the Reuters survey showed on Thursday. The reduction comes despite OPEC+, which comprises OPEC and its allies, including Russia, beginning in April to unwind its most recent layer of output cuts. The group plans to accelerate the hikes in May and June, citing supportive market fundamentals such as low inventories. The full extent of the rises will depend partly on the impact of attempts by US President Donald Trump to clamp down on supply from Iran and Venezuela
IMF CONFIRMS NIGERIA’S FULL REPAYMENT OF $3.4BN LOAN
The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid the $3.4bn financial support it received under the Rapid Financing Instrument to cushion the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement sent to journalists on Thursday on behalf of Mr Christian Ebeke, the IMF Resident Representative for Nigeria, the Fund said the repayment was completed on April 30, 2025. The loan, disbursed in April 2020, was aimed at helping Nigeria address a sharp fall in oil prices, economic contraction, and fiscal pressures caused by the pandemic. “As of April 30, 2025, Nigeria has fully repaid the financial support of about $3.4bn it requested and received in April 2020 from the International Monetary Fund under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices,” the IMF stated. However, despite the full settlement of the principal, Nigeria will continue to honour additional annual payments related to Special Drawing Rights charges. The Fund noted that the country is expected to make annual payments of about $30m in SDR-related charges over the next few years.
SEC UNVEILS CAPITAL MARKET TECHNOLOGY SURVEY
The Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled a technology adoption assessment survey for registered capital market operators as part of efforts to deepen innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian capital market. In a circular issued by the Commission on Wednesday, the SEC stated that the exercise was designed to evaluate the level of adoption of advanced technologies among CMOs operating within the Nigerian capital market. According to the notice, “The following technology adoption survey is designed by the Commission to assess the adoption of advanced technologies among registered Capital Market Operators.” The SEC directed all registered operators to log into the e-portal at using their current access credentials to complete the survey. The exercise will run for two weeks, from 5 to 20 May 2025. Speaking recently on the role of innovation in the capital market, the director-general of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, urged stakeholders to embrace technology as a catalyst for growth, improved transparency, operational efficiency, and market resilience.
CBN EARNS N3.1BN INTEREST ON FG’S WAYS AND MEANS
The Central Bank of Nigeria earned N3.1bn as interest on the Federal Government’s overdraft facility in 2024, down sharply from the N1.6tn it earned in 2023, figures from the apex bank’s audited financial statements have shown. The interest income, categorised under “loans and receivables” in the CBN’s 2024 financials, is tied to the controversial Ways and Means facility—an overdraft provided by the apex bank to the Federal Government to plug short-term fiscal shortfalls. “Included in interest income on loans and receivables is interest income on overdraft facility granted to the Federal Government, amounting to N3.1bn (2023: N1.6tn),” the CBN stated. The interest rate applied to the overdraft, it said, was the Monetary Policy Rate plus three percentage points. The year-on-year decline of 99.8 per cent represents a significant shift in fiscal and monetary policy coordination, as the CBN has moved to curtail the government’s persistent reliance on the overdraft facility. The drastic drop in interest income comes after the Federal Government securitised N22.7tn worth of outstanding overdrafts in 2023, converting them into 40-year bonds with a three-year moratorium.
EQUITY MARKET GAINS N1.69TN AS TRADING BOOMS
Investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited recorded a total turnover of 2.645 billion shares valued at N77bn in 86,110 deals last week, representing an increase from the 2.200 billion shares worth N75.4bn exchanged in 70,329 deals the previous week. This trading performance coincided with a bullish momentum on the local bourse, which added approximately N1.69tn in market capitalisation over the week. The market capitalisation settled at N68.339tn, up from N66.647tn, while the All-Share Index rose to 108,733.40 points. The Financial Services sector led the activity chart in terms of volume, trading 1.638 billion shares valued at N45.825bn in 37,843 deals. This accounted for 61.90 per cent and 59.51 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The Services industry followed with 364.653 million shares worth N2.909bn in 7,760 deals, while the Consumer Goods sector came third with 190.221 million shares valued at N6.771bn in 10,595 deals.
