Lagos to divert traffic on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway for 8 weeks
The Lagos State Government has announced the diversion of traffic on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway for repair work on the Airport Flyover Bridge by the Federal Ministry of Works from August 9 to October 3, 2021.
The structure of the airport flyover bridge at Toyota on the Oshodi-Isolo axis was affected by the inferno that occurred in January 2021, on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, due to a petrol tanker explosion.
This disclosure is contained in a statement signed by the Lagos State commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde.
Oladeinde explained that the Oshodi-bound lane would be barred from vehicular movement from midnight on 9th August 2021 and reopened partially on the midnight of 14th August 2021 for the first phase of repairs.
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He stated that the second phase will commence immediately for a duration of seven weeks to hasten the rehabilitation works, stressing that motorists will be diverted from the main carriageway to the service lane of the Oshodi bound lane for the first five days.
Oladeinde also revealed that traffic heading towards Oshodi-bound lane will be diverted to the service lane at Ladipo, while those heading to Mile 2 will be diverted to the Airport Road, adding that two lanes on both Oshodi and Mile 2 roads will equally be open to vehicular movement to ease traffic.
He appealed to motorists to drive with caution and forbearance as this will help ameliorate the traffic gridlock that may arise during the rehabilitation period, affirming that the safety of Lagosians is a top priority of the Lagos State Government.
Traffic diversion at Marina National Theatre in the week ahead
The Lagos State Government has announced plans to divert traffic on the National Theatre and Marina axis for a period of 7 months with effect from Monday, August 9, 2021.
The diversion which is for the continuation of works on the Blue Line rail project is part of the current administration’s mandate to ensure the safety of motorists and construction personnel during the course of the construction of the project.
This disclosure is contained in a statement made by the Lagos State commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, who said the road diversion is for a duration of 221 days.
According to NAN, Oladeinde said that the Traffic Management Plan (T.M.P) would address the impact of the construction work on traffic and subsequently eliminate traffic-related issues.
The commissioner explained that the construction would commence on the right-hand side of the road for a duration of 116 days while the left-hand side would take 182 days.
Oladeinde stated that some of the works would be done simultaneously as some aspects of the construction would require such attention.
He said, “Motorists would be diverted to the descending ramp of Ebute-Ero to link Marina ring road through a diversion point. Alternately, traffic will also be diverted to Chapel Street along Apongbon to access Broad Street.
“Traffic signs and temporary barriers will be mounted along the affected axis to guide motorists on movement during the course of the construction. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) will be on ground to ensure safety of motorists and efficient access to their destinations.’’
NBS economy data release calendar for the week ahead
The NBS release calendar for the coming week indicates the following:
Monday 9th August, 2021: Daily Energy Generated and sent out (Q2 2021),
Tuesday 10th August, 2021: Annual abstract of statistics, 2018 and 2019.
Oil prices record biggest weekly decline since March
Iran’s foreign minister on Monday said the country will respond promptly to any threat against its security as the United States, Israel, and Britain blamed her for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman.
The Middle East state-held oil firms, including Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), are considering selling more assets to investors to monetize their stakes and attract foreign investors as oil prices rise.
Oil prices extended the previous session gains on Friday but headed for the biggest weekly decline since March as travel restrictions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant are raising concerns about fuel demand. Brent had a weekly decline of -7.35%.
In the coming week, oil prices are expected to dip on worries that travel restrictions to curb the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 will derail economic gains.
Currency Market
There was a sense of calm in the currency market especially at the BDC market, the Naira strengthened at the BDC market as the banks seemed to have complied with the CBN stance to sell FX to retailers.
At the I & E FX window, the domestic currency dipped slightly by -0.01% on a week-on-week (W-o-W) basis to close at N411.50/US$ at the close of trading on Friday.
Against the US dollar at the BDC it closed at US$1/N508 appreciated by +3.24%, against the British pound it also appreciated by +1.40% to close at £1/N705, and against the Euro by +0.17% to close at €1/N602.
The Naira closed the week at $/N411.50 at the I&E FX window, at the NAFEX (spot market) it closed at $/N411.10.
More of the same is expected in the week ahead as the Naira is anticipated to continue to hover around N406/$1-N412/$1 threshold in the NAFEX window.
Money Market
For a major part of trading last week, system liquidity was elevated pushing money market rates low and trading in single digits.
However, at the close of the session on Friday, funding rates rose significantly. Open Buyback (OBB) closed at 20.00% while Overnight (O/N) rates closed at 20.50% indicating a W-o-W rise of +166.67% for OBB and +164.52% for O/N rates.
Funding rates are expected to trade in double digits trend in the coming week in the absence of any maturity.
Treasury Bills Market
The treasury bill market was broadly bullish for most of the trading session last week, as we saw some buying across all tenors during the week.
At the close of the market last week, average benchmark yields for T-bills fell by -4.65% to 5.63%, OMO bills declined up by -10.53% W-o-W to close at 7.78%, CBN’s Special Bill fell marginally by 0.12% to close at 8.22%. We expect activity in the new week to be dictated by the market liquidity situation.
FGN bond and eurobond market
The bulls dominated the FGN bond market as positive sentiment was seen across the board. The overall average benchmark yields closed at 9.06% for the week which fell W-o-W by -2.10%.
The Covid-19 induced risk-off sentiment caused yields in the Eurobond market to inch up last week and selling was seen across the board with minimal volumes traded.
On the domestic space, the Federal Government of Nigeria appointed transaction advisers for a Eurobond issue. The Eurobonds to be issued, are to raise funds for the New External Borrowing of N2.343 trillion (about USD6.2 billion) provided in the 2021 Appropriation Act to part finance the Deficit.
However, market sentiment is expected to remain soft as inflation concerns continue to linger.
Nigerian Capital Market
The Nigerian bourse closed the week on a positive note with some cherry picking and bargain hunting. The NGXASI closed the week with a growth of +0.68%. The Nigerian Stock Exchange gained N137.38bn, year-to-date return moderated to -3.63%, while the market capitalization settled at N20.22 trillion.
The volume and value of stocks traded on the exchange last week dipped by -56.66% and -56.41% respectively.
Sectoral performance across sectors tracked was broadly negative last week as the NGX-30 was the highest loser for the week with -0.11% while NGX-IND, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Banking, NGX Oil & Gas and NGX Insurance declined by -0.21%, -0.48%, -0.58%, -0.61% and -1.65% respectively.
Market breadth for the week closed negative with 23 gainers led by CUTIX and REGALINS as against 36 losers led by NEIMETH and AIICO.
In the coming week, we expect to see further bargain hunting around the half-year earnings season as companies continue to release their results and impressive earnings reports should spur some interest. However, other macroeconomic developments are likely to impact investors’ decisions.
In addition, we expect investors to monitor the movement of yields in the fixed income market.
