Daily Watch – Exports hit ₦3.57b in Q3, Jibowu & Costain bridges to make way for new rail line

14th December 2017

  • The NBS says Nigeria’s total exports in Q3 2017 reached ₦3.57 billion, a 13.19 percent increase over the amount recorded in Q2. In its ‘Foreign Trade Statistics for the Third Quarter 2017’, the statistics agency said the value of Q3 exports were 35 percent higher than the amount recorded in the same period in 2016. The export of raw materials increased by 16.88 percent compared to Q3 2016 while solid minerals exports grew by 85.3 percent in Q3 2017 compared to Q2 2017 and 78.72 percent higher than Q3 2016. The agency said that the total import value of ₦2.348 billion in Q3 2017 was 10.51 percent lower than the Q2 2017 and 4.68 percent lower than Q3 2016.
  • The FG and the Lagos State Government have agreed to pull down two bridges in Lagos Metro at Jibowu and Costain as part of efforts to address challenges facing the ongoing construction of a new Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line. Transportation minister, Rotimi Amaechi, announced this in Lagos on Tuesday, adding that the worst challenges of the new rail project were located in the state. Amaechi said the contractor, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation planned to demolish the two bridges to give way to the new rail line. Although the minister said new bridges would be immediately constructed, Lagos had suggested further digging to accommodate the new rail track to be laid under the bridges.
  • Some of the countries that purchase crude from Nigeria have doubled their purchase of US shale. According to Bloomberg, the US has exported more hydrocarbons in 2017 than any other time in history. An analysis of the data by TheCable found that 12 countries which had increased their purchase of US crude are customers of Nigeria’s sweet crude. India, which used to be the largest importer of Nigeria’s crude, received its first shipment of US crude in 2017. In November, the online news website said 13 countries including Colombia and Japan, which increased their purchase of US shale, have not purchased Nigerian crude since 2016. Some of the countries who buy crude from Nigeria and increased US shale purchases are the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Peru, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Thailand, Singapore and China.
  • Nigeria’s foreign exchange market saw transactions worth $1.34 million at its interbank window on Wednesday at a rate of ₦314.50 per dollar, as commercial banks traded the local currency at below the central bank rate. The CBN has used a rate of around ₦306 to supply dollars to banks since it introduced a multiple exchange rate system in February. In, April the bank allowed foreign investors to trade the naira at a market-determined rate, which has weakened to around ₦360. It was quoted at around ₦363 per dollar at retail exchange bureaus on Wednesday.
  • Nigeria’s one-year treasury bill yield rose to 10 percent on Wednesday, having dropped to 7 percent in the previous session after the government said it would repay some outstanding maturities this month. The government plans to resume auctions in January after paying some ₦198 billion worth of maturities in December, which helped bills recover some ground. Traders said some foreign investors were booking profits and bidding to repatriate their funds, creating a liquidity squeeze on the currency market.