Lagos records Zero case for first time since coronavirus outbreak
Nigeria’s state hit the most by the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday recorded no cases of the disease for the first time since the virus outbreak in the country.
NCDC late Monday said of the 38 new cases reported in the country, 23 are in Kano, 5 in Gombe, 3 in Kaduna, 2 in Borno, 2 in Abia while FCT, Sokoto and Ekiti have one each.
So far 665 cases have been recorded in Nigeria with 188 discharged and 22 deaths.
The status of Lagos on Monday followed the confirmation of 70 cases on Sunday. Total confirmed cases in Lagos remains at 379, more than half of the national cases.
Meanwhile Lagos State government on Monday said it would mandate the use of face mask, in a move that could be said to suggest a possible relaxation of the lockdown soon.
Last Wednesday, the state government said it would review the lockdown situation in the state after seven days.
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Dollar Scarcity keeps foreign investors on sidelines in Lagos bourse
Activities of offshore investors on the Nigerian Stock market have declined on scarcity of dollars that threatens to evaporate dollar gains for betting on Nigerian stocks.
Temi Popoola, the head of Renaissance Capital’s Nigerian business told Bloomberg that Foreigners are net sellers and locals are net buyers, as assets look very cheap in naira terms. “If you are a foreign investor, you still have the currency risk. It is not clear what direction we are going,” said Popoola.
Low participation of foreigners according to some analysts also served to limit sell-offs amid last week’s uninspiring oil market.
Nigerian stocks gained by 1.63% Friday to close the week in green as gaining streak extends to a record 7th trading session, the longest since a 11-day bull-run that ended on January 13. Week-on-Week gains reached 7.2%.
Unwanted expiring Oil contract turns negative
An expiring West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May turned negative yesterday for the first time in the history of the oil futures market after contract holders failed to find buyers.
West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, lost more than 250 percent on Monday to trade as low as -$40.32 a barrel in a day of chaos in oil futures markets, FT reported.
While this is not reflective of the physical price for the US bellwether oil, it reflects the heavy decline in demand for oil coupled with nearly exhausted storage capacities amid a supply glut.
Yinka Ademuwagun, United Capital analyst explained that upon expiration of the contract, data providers like Bloomberg would commence tracking the price of the next monthly contract.
According to CNBC, the June WTI contract, which expires on May 19, fell about 18% to settle at $20.43 per barrel. This contract, which was more actively traded, is a better reflection of the reality in the oil market. The July contract was roughly 11% lower at $26.18 per barrel
Brent slid almost 10 percent to $25.78 in an apocalyptic day for oil, making nothing of OPEC+’s plan to cut supply by at least a tenth of global supply.
Nigerian stocks halt bull-run
Nigerian stocks halted their seven-day rally to open the week on a negative note, although United Capital analysts expect sentiments to improve but with less intensity as stock prices find a new level.
The market remained almost unchanged at a 0.01% drop in the All Share Index on Monday.
Among the day’s losers were Guinness (-9.38percent), GTBank (-4.33percent), and Zenith Bank (-5.67percent), while Nestle (+0.83percent), MTNN (+3.63percent) and BUA Cement (+8.48percent) led the gainers.
“The influx of first-quarter (Q1) 2020 earnings by listed companies is on the watchlist of investors and will shape interest,” said United Capital analysts.
March’s Inflation at 12.26% as food impact expected to be realized in April
The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 12.26 percent (year-on-year) in March 2020. This is 0.06 percent points higher than the rate recorded in February 2020 (12.20) percent.
The lock down in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States and various major disruptions in normal economic activity in several States since then, started in April 2020 and accordingly would not have any major impact on March 2020 Inflation which this report focusses on, said NBS early Tuesday.
Increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the Headline index.
On month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.84 percent in March 2020. This is 0.05 percent higher than the rate recorded in February 2020 (0.79 percent).
