Business News
US headline crude oil crashes further, below $0 in an unprecedented outcome
US crude oil futures turned negative as it crashed below zero dollars for the first time in history on Monday, April 20, 2020.
The oil storage space has become a major global challenge as the US crude oil futures turned negative when it crashed below zero dollars for the first time in history on Monday, April 20, 2020.
The weak economic data from Germany and Japan have cast doubt on when the demand for crude will rebound. The lockdown in most of the economies around the globe has continued to have a negative impact on demand.
Meanwhile, Nairamterics had reported earlier when the US crude oil futures fell below $1 per barrel for the first time ever as demand for crude dried up. The U.S. crude futures for May delivery, the near-term contract, fell to their lowest level of more than 136% to negative $6.72 a barrel as traders fretted over the capacity of storage facilities both in the U.S. and abroad. Contracts for June delivery declined 12% to about $22 a barrel.
READ ALSO: International Energy Agency’s ‘Black April’ forecast torpedoes Nigeria’s 2020 budget
The global supply glut has persisted as the physical demand for crude oil has dried up and billions of people due to the lockdown stay at home as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Reuters, the May US WTI contract dropped by $19.06 or 104.3%, to a discount of 79 cents a barrel as at 2.09 pm today (1.809 GMT) after it had hit an all-time low of -$1.43 a barrel. Brent crude went down by $1.85 to sell at $26.23 a barrel.
READ MORE: FG makes U-turn, to sell stake in oil assets
This means that oil traders were willing to pay to get the crude oil off their hands ahead of the expiry of the contract for delivery in May
The investors were bailed out of the May contract ahead of the expiry date on Monday due to very low demand for the actual oil.
However, the outlook appears more promising as the June WTI contract is trading more actively at a much higher level at $21.6 per barrel which will be more than $23 difference when compared to what it was for May.
READ MORE: Nigeria’s cocoa exports to fall by $100m as prices rise in futures market.
The low oil demand and unsold cargo has become a major problem for Nigeria. It was reported a few days ago that the Nigeria Bonny light crude sold for as low as $12 per barrel, as the country had to sell at a discount due to millions of barrels of unsold crude.
Business
Lagos State seeks investors in aquatic and livestock agriculture value chain
The Commissioner revealed that the scheme was in line with the State’s five-year strategic agriculture roadmap.
The Lagos State Government announced it is seeking private sector collaboration for Agriculture sector value chain development in livestock feed mills, fisheries and red meat.
This was disclosed by the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
The Commissioner revealed that the scheme was in line with the State’s five-year strategic agriculture roadmap, as the State identified the 3 main sectors for value chain disruption.
She also added that investment in the sectors would also develop jobs for the industry and boost the State’s GDP growth, through Private Sector collaboration as Lagos residents consume over N5 trillion worth of food annually.
“The objective is to stimulate and encourage more public-private partnerships in the three value chains,” she said.
“When you consider this pool of transactions happening in Lagos, it shows that we are the market. For instance, we demand over 400,000 metric tons of fish on an annual basis.
“But our fishermen and our aquaculture farmers are only able to produce just about 174,000 metric tons with deficit of 200,000 metric tons,” she added.
She also disclosed that the state has 9,000 artisanal fishermen, and bringing more youths into the space will increase the level of fish and seafood being harnessed from our water bodies. Looking at the transactional value on an annual basis, the fisheries sector is worth well over N120billion according to her.
In case you missed it: Nigeria exported agricultural products worth N321.5 billion in 2020, representing a 19.16% increase when compared to N269.8 billion recorded in 2019 and a 6.27% increase compared to N302.28 billion recorded in 2018.
Business
#DigitalSkillsTraining: FG announces conclusion of selection process
Only successful applicants that are contacted by the Ministry are to report at the training venue.
