Brent crude traded around $101 per barrel on Thursday, hovering at its highest level since May as the intensifying conflict between the US and Iran raised concerns over further disruptions to energy supplies from the Middle East.

Iran said it was ready for a more intense conflict, vowing to resist the US naval blockade and warning that it would intensify its attacks if American forces continued strikes on Iranian territory.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump predicted that the conflict would not end until after the November midterm elections and said significant relief in gasoline prices was unlikely before then, signaling limited prospects for near-term de-escalation. 

Hostilities intensified over the past week following roughly a month of relative calm, with both sides stepping up attacks.

The conflict broadened after Iran-backed Houthi militants attacked several energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, prompting a temporary suspension of some operations.

By Ochefa

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) held its 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja, yesterday.

Themed , “Building a Resilient Economy in an Era of Disruptions: Strategic Imperatives for the Banking and Financial Services Industry,” the conference brought together stakeholders from the banking industry, the World Bank, government officials including economists , business leaders and policy makers.

” The ultimate test of Nigeria’s economic reforms should be their impact on households, businesses and the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians.”

Here are the key points from the discussions:

Dr. Dele Alabi, President and Chairman of Council of CIBN:
•The ultimate test of Nigeria’s economic reforms should be their impact on households, businesses and the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians. Nigeria’s improving macroeconomic indicators will amount to little if they failed to translate into lower living costs, more jobs, higher incomes and better living standards for citizens.
“Macroeconomic progress must, therefore, be felt at the micro level in households, small businesses and the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians. Our task is to build systems that learn, adapt and emerge stronger.”

• Lead Private Sector Development Specialist at the World Bank’s Nigeria Office, Ms Bertine Kamphuis:
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector remain inadequate. She urged banks to channel more financing to sectors with the greatest potential to create jobs, particularly agriculture, manufacturing and MSMEs. According to her, with between three and four million young Nigerians entering the labour market every year, expanding access to productive credit has become imperative.”

• Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele:
“Strong bank profits alone are no longer sufficient; financial institutions must contribute more directly to economic growth and the welfare of Nigerians.
“For years, we have measured financial institutions by balance-sheet growth, profitability and shareholder returns. These remain important. But we must increasingly ask: what is the financial system doing for the real economy?
A resilient banking system cannot exist indefinitely where businesses cannot obtain affordable credit, manufacturers struggle to finance expansion, and millions of productive MSMEs remain outside the formal financial system.”

•Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso:
” The large capital raised by banks during the recapitalisation exercise indicated the depth of capital available locally.
Represented by the Deputy Governor in charge of Policy, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, the CBN governor  challenged operators in the industry to take advantage of the large capital now available to them to fund the real sectors of the economy, with a view to achieving the rapid growth that would impact on better living standards of Nigerians.
He urged state governments to collaborate with the CBN and the fiscal authorities at the federal level to effectively tame inflation, pledging that with the cooperation of all stakeholders, a single digit inflation was achievable.”

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, has said that Nigerian goods continue to remain competitive and, in particular, high demand on the continent.

The minister disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the 2026 Third Quarter meeting of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Central Coordination Committee (CCC).

She said, ” I think that a lot of Nigerians have the perception that Nigerian goods are not competitive on this continent. Nigerian entrepreneurs have shown that they can compete anywhere in the world, and are doing particularly well in the rest of Africa, and this is demonstrated by our non-oil exports, which have gone up exponentially, and it’s due to the exports of Nigerian goods across the African continent

She said on a trade mission to Botswana with about 11 Nigerian businesses, one of them immediately got an order of 6,000 T-shirts to be supplied there.