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Brent rose on an unexpected decline in U.S. crude inventory

Brent price climbed 0.19% to $85.79pb today, driven by a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories, and a weaker dollar following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported a 0.45% decline in U.S. crude stocks to 445 million barrels per day. Despite investor expectations of a rate cut, the Fed held interest rates unchanged at 5.25-5.5%% during its March meeting. Strong oil demand in the U.S. and China, coupled with ongoing OPEC+ production cuts, are expected to sustain elevated oil prices in the short term.Top of Form

Nigerian tomato output increases by 33.3% to 2.4 million metric tons in 2023

In Nigeria, the price of a basket of tomatoes skyrocketed by 40% to N35,000 in February from N25,000 in January. The spike in its price can be attributed to supply shortage due to adverse weather conditions and escalating transportation costs. Consequently, consumers have begun seeking alternatives like banga soup made from palm nuts. Despite being the world’s largest tomato producer (24 million metric tons annually), Nigeria ranks 13th globally in tomato paste imports.

FDC’s senior analysts, Dr. Desola Sunmoni and Dr. Ifeoma Nwokolo discussed these and other burning economic issues on Channels TV Business Morning and Business Incorporated programme respectively.

Click the link  to watch the video.