
Price Watch: Consumers paid more for diesel and less for petrol in December

Breaking: Ethereum within striking distance of $1,400

Oil traders weigh if COVID-19 support programs will buoy economic growth

President Buhari has approved the expansion of the NSIP – Minister

Nigeria fully committed to promoting good governance practices in Africa – Buhari

COVID-19 Update in Nigeria

Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦470/$1

LPG: Nigerians paid more to refill 12.5kg gas cylinders in December

Analysis: Japaul, Ardova, Champion Breweries; What is behind the deals?

Forex trading in Nigeria – A beginner’s guide
Markets
Bulls take over as MRS Oil hits 5 year low
Published
2 years agoon

Trading ended on a positive note today, as the All Share Index closed at 31,007.25 basis points, up 0.68%. Year to date, the index remains in the red down 18.92%.
Top Gainers and Losers
AXA Mansard Insurance was the best performing stock today. The stock gained 9.89% to close at N2. Diamond Bank was next with a 9.86% gain to close at N0.78. University Press Limited rounds up the top three gainers with 7.50% gain to close at N2.15.
On the flip side, Linkage Assurance was the worst performing stock today. The stock declined by 9.86% gain to close at N0.56. Veritas Kapital Assurance shed 9.09% to close at N0.20. May and Baker rounds up the top three losers for the day with an 8% drop, to close at N2.30.
Top Trades by volume
The top three trades by volume were from the banking sector. FBN Holdings was the most actively traded stock today. 63.9 million shares valued at N479 million were traded in 266 deals. Access Bank was next with 23.1 million shares valued at N172 million traded in 179 deals. Ecobank Trans International (ETI) rounds up the top three with 16.4 million shares valued at N263 million traded in 54 deals.
Corporate Action
Lafarge Africa Plc today announced its intention will raise N89.21billion by way of a Rights Issue at N12.00 per share, by issuing 6 new shares for every 7 shares held by shareholders at the Qualification Date, which will be announced.
Notable Event
MRS Oil Plc today hit a 5 year low of N24 per share
Onome Ohwovoriole has a degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Benin and prior to joining Nairametrics in December 2016 as Lead Analyst had stints in Publishing, Automobile Services, Entertainment and Leadership Training.He covers companies in the Nigerian corporate space, especially those listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).He also has a keen interest in new frontiers like Cryptocurrencies and Fintech. In his spare time, he loves to read books on finance, fiction as well as keep up with happenings in the world of international diplomacy.You can contact him via [email protected]


Cryptocurrency
Breaking: Ethereum within striking distance of $1,400
The leading altcoin was trading at $1,377 thus within striking distance of $1,400.

Published
37 mins agoon
January 19, 2021
The world’s utility crypto is fired up on all cylinders on the basis it just ascended to a new yearly high after breaking its previous high seen in early January.
The leading altcoin was trading at $1,377 thus within striking distance of $1,400.
At the time of drafting this report, Ethereum traded at $1,377.06 with a daily trading volume of $35.3 billion. Ethereum is up 13.13% for the day.
What you should know: Ethereum is a cryptocurrency designed for decentralized applications and deployment of smart contracts, which are created and operated without any fraud, interruption, control or interference from a third party.
- Ethereum 2.0 is an upgrade to the Ethereum network that helps in improving the network’s scalability.
Through the implementation of several, efficiency, enhancements, scalability, and speed the Ethereum network becomes better without compromising its decentralization and security.
What this means: Key reasons attributed to the remarkable rise of Ethereum include the rise of many #DeFi projects running on the #Ethereum network as seen in 2020, #Ethereum flipped Bitcoin in terms of network fees.
- Users spent almost $600M in fees on the Ethereum network last year – 83% more than on Bitcoin.
In 2020, #Ethereum flipped #Bitcoin in terms of network fees.
Users spent almost $600M in fees on the Ethereum network last year – 83% more than on Bitcoin.
Data: @glassnode pic.twitter.com/SMSHbkFHuC
— Rafael Schultze-Kraft (@n3ocortex) January 9, 2021
Commodities
Oil traders weigh if COVID-19 support programs will buoy economic growth
Brent oil crude futures gained 0.40% to trade at $54.95 while WTI futures were dropped 0.23% to trade at $52.30 a barrel.

Published
2 hours agoon
January 19, 2021
Oil prices were mixed at the second trading session of the week. Oil traders are cautiously optimistic that further COVID-19 stimulus programs will buoy economic growth against the increasing COVID-19-induced lockdowns sighted in key international markets.
What you should know
At press time, Brent oil crude futures gained 0.40% to trade at $54.95, while West Texas Intermediate futures dropped by 0.23% to trade at $52.30 a barrel. There was no oil settlement transaction on Monday at the world’s largest economy, due to public holiday.
- Both global oil benchmarks remained above the $50 mark.
- In addition, oil traders are treading cautiously on reports that the third-largest crude oil importer, India, recorded poor fuel sales in 2020, as well as rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Japan and China.
What they are saying
Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at Axi, in a note to Nairametrics, dropped valuable points as regards macros weighing the black liquid hydrocarbon, taking to account the U.S dollar recorded losses at Tuesday trading session, thereby arbitrarily supporting crude oil prices.
- “Many COVID-19 jitters out here, but oil prices continue to hold and looks to nudge higher eyeing support from the weaker US dollar as oil sensitive currencies are showing the way. The US data has been less encouraging lately. However, yesterday’s Q4 China GDP data provided a festive reminder that China’s economy continues to fire on all cylinders and brought with it dip-buying support.
- “Overall, the policy mixes between OPEC+ current supply discipline coalescing with the Biden’s administration’s overarching focus on public health and economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, suggest oil prices can go much higher.”
What to expect
Oil traders anticipate that oil prices will stabilize near the current level, as progress is made on the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. As the black liquid hydrocarbon moves closer on the path to a typical demand environment, oil prices will then soar.
Cryptocurrency
2,450 investors own 1000 BTC, not willing to sell their Bitcoin
Much of the recent increase can be attributed to wealthy entities withdrawing their BTC from the exchange

Published
4 hours agoon
January 19, 2021
The number of investors owning at least 1,000 BTC is growing at a record pace. Data retrieved from Glassnode show that the number of addresses holding at least 1000 BTC has skyrocketed lately.
- The growth from January to December last year: 6.7%
- The growth from December until today: 7.2%
Institutional buying?🏦
The number of addresses holding at least 1000 BTC has skyrocketed lately.
The growth from January to December last year: 6.7%
The growth from December until today: 7.2%Read more in our weekly report tomorrow: https://t.co/xlQH8LeQyH
Data: @glassnode pic.twitter.com/Gkn6dxH5Cd
— Arcane Research (@ArcaneResearch) January 18, 2021
On the chart pattern, the number of addresses owning such amount of cryptos was about 2,450.
What this means
Large crypto entities could be envisaging a strong medium to long-term Bitcoin price trend, and are choosing to hold on to BTC in expectation of a bull market.
- Much of the recent increase can be attributed to wealthy entities withdrawing their BTC from the exchange. Apparently, this is not new wealth – rather, it represents a change in the way Bitcoin whales are choosing to hold their coins.
- At the time of drafting this report, Bitcoin traded at $36,534.77 with a daily trading volume of $53.2 Billion. Bitcoin is up 4.20% for the day.
In addition, another key point helping Bitcoin prices to remain supported between the $34,000-$37,000 price levels in recent days, is that a significant amount of long-term investors in Bitcoin are not nervous amid the prevailing volatility in play as revealed by Glassnode.
Bitcoin reserve risk is still very low. This means that there is high confidence in long-term HODLers relative to the current price. In red, the price is high and the confidence is low. Yes, a $37k Bitcoin is…cheap.
#Bitcoin reserve risk is still very low. This means that there is high confidence of long-term HODLers relative to the current price.
In the red, the price is high and the confidence is low. Yes, a $37k #Bitcoin is…cheap.
Source: @glassnode pic.twitter.com/uE2jW62aGx
— Jared Hornmatter (@jaredhornmatter) January 18, 2021
Bottom Line
Nairametrics is of the opinion that the increased buying pressures by such crypto investors are significantly responsible for Bitcoin staying supported above $35,000.
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