‘Femi AsuInternational oil benchmark, Brent crude, climbed above $80 per barrel on Thursday for the first time since November 2014, on the back of concerns that Iranian exports could fall because of renewed sanctions by the United States. Brent, against which Nigeria’s crude oil is priced, reached an intraday high of $80.33 per barrel before receding to $80.16 by 11:09 am EDT (1509 GMT), according to Reuters. The rise in oil prices means further accretion to the nation’s Excess Crude Account, into which the difference between the market price of crude oil and the budget benchmark is saved to provide a cushion when oil prices fall or extra cash is needed for spending on infrastructure. Following the rally in crude oil prices, the National Assembly increased the oil benchmark price for the 2018 budget to $51 per barrel from $45 proposed by the Executive. Supply concerns are top of mind after the United States left the Iran nuclear deal,” said Norbert Rücker, head of macro and commodity research at Swiss bank, Julius Baer.

Source: Punch May 17, 2018 23:03 UTC