Skip to main content

Buhari Turns to Taxman as Nigeria Gets Weaned From Petrodollars

Crude tumbled the most in two months and currencies of oil-exporting nations slumped after talks between major producers ended in Doha without any agreement on limiting output. Asian stocks retreated from a four-month high as demand for haven assets boosted the yen and Treasuries.

West Texas Intermediate plunged as much as 6.8 percent, while Canada’s dollar posted the biggest losses among major currencies. Japan’s yen climbed toward a 17-month high after Group of 20 finance ministers signaled opposition to curbing its strength. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares fell for the first time in nine days as futures on U.S. and European benchmark stock gauges declined. An exchange-traded fund tracking Brazil’s equities rallied as President Dilma Rousseff lost a key impeachment vote.

Global equities have moved largely in tandem with crude this year and both rebounded from multi-year lows over the past two months amid prospects oil-producing nations including Saudi Arabia and Russia would agree output caps in Doha to address a glut. Renewed instability in energy prices poses a risk to financial markets at a time when China’s economy is showing signs of improvement and central banks are loosening monetary policies across much of Asia and Europe.

“There was an expectation baked into prices that you’d see a production freeze, and with no resolution, it adds to negative drivers for the oil price, commodities and commodity currencies,” said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners in Wellington, which manages about $7.2 billion. “We will probably see equity markets go off the boil as some of that recent strength in the materials and energy stocks unwinds. The reporting season remains in focus this week.”

Morgan Stanley, International Business Machines Corp. and Netflix Inc. are among companies reporting earnings on Monday. Singapore announced the steepest slide in its exports in more than three years for March, providing more evidence of a weakening economy after the city-state unexpectedly eased monetary policy last week. Increases in China’s new-home prices gathered pace last month, government data show.

Commodities

Crude was 4.8 percent lower at $38.44 a barrel as of 7:09 a.m. London time. It climbed above $42 a barrel in New York last week for the first time in 2016, having over the past two months rebounded from below $30 after Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela announced a preliminary agreement to freeze output. Discussions stumbled in Doha as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations refused to agree to any deal unless all OPEC members joined including Iran, which wasn’t present at the meeting, according to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.

The failure of the Doha talks means "the oil price will reset lower and could even retest $30 over the next three months,” said James Purcell, a cross-asset strategist at UBS Group AG’s wealth-management business in Hong Kong. “Short term, that will dampen enthusiasm for risk assets, thus the moves in commodity currencies and yen are a knee-jerk reaction.”

Gold advanced 0.2 percent, having rallied 0.5 percent on Friday as U.S. reports showed manufacturing output unexpectedly declined and consumer confidence fell. Copper dropped 0.6 percent in London and aluminum declined 0.4 percent.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said over the weekend that declines in commodity prices are likely to be long lasting.

Currencies

The Canadian dollar, known as the loonie, sank 1.1 percent versus the greenback and the Malaysian ringgit dropped 0.8 percent. Crude is Canada’s second-biggest export, while Malaysia is Asia’s only major net oil exporter. Australia’s dollar lost 0.8 percent and the Norwegian krone weakened 0.7 percent. One-month forwards for the Russian ruble slid 2.5 percent, the steepest drop in two months.

The yen rose 0.8 percent to 107.97, near the 17-month high of 107.63 reached a week ago. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Friday called foreign-exchange market moves “orderly” -- a signal that the U.S. doesn’t view yen-selling intervention as warranted. The rebuff came after Japanese officials warned about one-sided foreign-exchange moves and speculators built record bets for the yen to extend this year’s 11 percent advance.

Stocks

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.5 percent. Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas explorer, dropped as much as 5.9 percent in Hong Kong. BHP Billiton Ltd., Australia’s largest oil and gas producer, lost 3.3 percent. Qantas Airways Ltd. tumbled 11 percent -- the most since December 2013 -- after Australia’s largest carrier scaled back plans to expand capacity on domestic routes.

Japan’s Topix index sank 3 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. slumped 4.8 percent, the most in two months, after it said profit may be reduced by about 30 billion yen ($278 million) this quarter due to a series of earthquakes that struck southwestern Japan since Thursday and disrupted parts supplies. The quake was the country’s biggest natural disaster in five years and also halted some production at Sony Corp., which fell 6.8 percent. Insurers Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co. and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. dropped more than 5 percent.

The Next Funds Ibovespa Linked ETF surged 4.5 percent in Tokyo as opposition lawmakers in Brazil’s lower house of Congress reached the threshold of 342 votes needed to advance the motion to impeach Rousseff to the Senate.

"It will keep Brazilian assets supported but the market had already been expecting the impeachment for a while," said Rajeev De Mello, who oversees about $10 billion as the head of Asian fixed income at Schroder Investment Management Ltd. in Singapore. "This is one positive for emerging markets coming from Latin America."

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.7 percent, while contracts on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index were down 1.4 percent.

Bonds

Sovereign bonds were in demand, with the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries falling two basis points to a one-week low of 1.73 percent. Australian notes due in a decade climbed for the first time in six days, pushing their yield down seven basis points to 2.48 percent. Yields on 20- and 30-year Japanese debt declined to record lows of 0.275 percent and 0.355 percent, respectively.

The cost of insuring corporate and sovereign bonds rose across the Asia-Pacific region Monday. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of credit-default swaps climbed 3.5 basis points to 143.5 basis points, according to prices from Nomura Holdings Inc. The gauge is on track for its highest close in a week.

Bloomberg

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE AKWA IBOM STATE Government , HOTEL BOOKING LIMITED SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON WEB DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

Akwa Ibom State Government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hotel Booking Limited to train youths of the state on Web development and design. At the new Secretariat Annex, office of the Chairman, Foreign Direct Investment, Mr. Gabriel Ukpe, venue of the Ceremony, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Dr. Nse Udo Essien in company with other State Government Officials signed on behalf of the State Government while Hotel Booking Limited was led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company, Mr. Mark Essien. Speaking, Dr. Nse Essien said the gesture was in line with the five point agenda of the present administration geared towards engaging our youths positively, creating jobs and alleviating poverty in the state. According to the Commissioner, between 150 – 500 youths would be trained on web design and development using the Ibom e-library and remote locations. He said a platform would be created for intended participants. “The essence of the Memor...

Do you know you can get up to 10,000,000 Collateral free loan from CBN, with an interest rate of 5% per annum for up to 7 years tenor?

How to access up to 10-million-naira collateral-free CBN loan for small businesses and individuals. The Central Bank of Nigeria is giving collateral-free loans of up to N10,000,000 (Ten million Naira) to small businesses in a scheme called; Agric-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS). INTRODUCTION The Scheme supports governments policy measures for the promotion of agricultural businesses, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as vehicles for sustainable economic development and employment generation. Objectives of the Scheme To improve access to affordable and sustainable finance by Agri-businesses, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Create employment opportunities in Nigeria. Boost the managerial capacity of agri-businesses and MSMEs to grow the enterprises into large corporate organizations in line with Federal The government’s agenda to develop the real sector and promote inclusive growth. Eligible sectors/businesses 1....

OZUBULU MASSACRE: THE HIDDEN TRUTH REVEALED

Following different versions of false news peddled by the Nigerian media and most regrettably, respected individuals, to narrate the very unfortunate incident that happened at St Philips Catholic Church, Amakwa Ozubulu, We, in our culture has dug out the details of this event and how it deteriorated to the August 6 massacre. Aloysius Ikegwuonu (Bishop), presently a drug baron in South Africa, was born in 1981 to the family of Chief Ikegwuonu, Amakwa Ozubulu. He grew up in a very poor home and often helped his mother who trades at Orie Akpu market, Off Ugwu Orie Bus Stop, Amakwa Ozubulu. 'Aloyee' as fondly called by his friends in his early youth stage, first came to limelight in 1999 when he became the senior prefect of Comprehensive Secondary School, C.S.S., (formerly College of Basic Studies, C.B.S.) Egbema Ozubulu; a school founded by Reverend Father Nwabaju Izuchi, a United States based Catholic priest. Right after his secondary school studies which he finished after his ...