The unstable nature of the oil industry should give concern to all Nigerians as the indicators from that industry are likely to send jitters down our spins.
The recent nuclear deal reached by the world powers with Iran leading to probable lifting of sanctions has started to take its toll on the already shaky price of global oil business.
Crude oil prices struggled to stay around $50 yesterday, amid persistent concerns over global oil glut as against the $53.79 it recorded the previous day.
Specifically, Nigeria’s light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $50.10 a barrel, down four cents, or 0.1 per cent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is far below the approved $53 per barrel benchmark for crude oil in Nigeria’s 2015 budget. It lost 1.5 per cent in the previous session, falling to a near four-month low of $50.15 a barrel.
Brent, the global benchmark, fell 45 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $56.65 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. WTI futures were off around 1.5 per cent to trade near $50.50 a barrel.
There were insinuations that the prices are likely to slide further given the fact that last week, Iran struck a nuclear deal with several world powers that, among other things, will end an oil embargo and allow the country to increase production for export.
