Update on Covid-19 Nigeria
The newly confirmed case, an Ogun State contact of the index case, he has no significant clinical symptoms according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The case confirmed on March 8 brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria to two.
A total of 217 contacts were linked to the index case. Of the 217, 45 travelled out of Nigeria and 172 are presently in Nigeria. Of the 172 contacts currently in Nigeria, 69 are in Lagos, 40 in Ogun and 52 in other States, with 11 in unknown locations.
AfDB approves $200m for power supply in Nigeria
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $200 million to support electricity transmission infrastructure and boost power supply in Nigeria, it said Monday.
The development bank said its board had approved $200 million to support the roll-out of mini-grids through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
“We are supporting the programme to roll out mini-grids across the country and also to encourage productive use of the grids to upgrade communities,” said Wale Shonibare , Acting Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Complex (AFDB) on a visit to Goddy Jedy-Agba, Minister of State for Power, in Abuja.
Oil gains to $36.41
Brent sees relief Tuesday after costing producers half-billion-dollars in a historic crash at the start of the week.
The commodity has gained 5.97% to $36.41 as at 8:30 am (GMT+1) on the futures market.
Brent futures fell to their lowest since mid-2016 to $31.02 on Monday as Saudi Arabia sold its oil at a big discount and signalled it would ramp up output after Russia refused to assent to a deeper oil production cut.
The slump yesterday means that in total, and based on their average February production, OPEC members lost more than $500 million in revenue, according to Reuters calculations.
President Buhari on Monday set up a committee that would revise the 2020 budget in the light of recent events and assess the impact of the coronavirus, as well, on the economy.
Market stabilization suggests better mood on NSE today
Nigerian stocks could see relief today to join markets around the world that are recovering from one of the worst days since the global financial crisis.
Markets in the Asia Pacific are gaining Tuesday and US stock futures making a U-turn after suffering big declines over concerns about the coronavirus spread and plunge in oil price.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is also up 1.6 percent.
Nigerian stocks on Monday slumped by the most in over two years after top-producer Saudi Arabia started a price war that pushed oil to record-low and triggered fears of a free-fall in the commodity’s value.
The main equity gauge fell 2.41 percent – the heaviest decline since a 2.41 percent drop on Feb 13 2018 – to a year-low of 25,648.61 points, while banking stocks slumped by 8.95 percent, the most since June 2013.
CBN seen raising OMO yields to keep hot money in as devaluation fears heighten
The Central Bank of Nigeria may increase yields on Open Market Operation (OMO) bills to sustain Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) in the face of declining oil price which is expected to pressure the naira.
Analysts polled by BusinessDay say this would be the main concern of the central bank given the current account balance and position of the country’s foreign reserve.
In the aftermath of Monday’s historic oil plunge, strategists at Paris-based Societe Generale SA told Bloomberg the CBN could start adjusting currency policy before reserves already at around $36bn hit the $30bn minimum threshold.
