Global oil prices fell on Wednesday following an announcement by United States President Donald Trump that Washington had reached a deal to import up to $2bn worth of crude oil from Venezuela.
At the close of trading around 5:00pm Nigerian time, Brent crude declined by 0.38 per cent to $60.56 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate dropped by 1.17 per cent to $56.46 per barrel.
Market analysts attributed the decline to concerns over increased oil supply after Trump disclosed that Venezuela would supply between 30 million and 50 million barrels of crude to the United States.
The development followed Trump’s declaration that the US would temporarily oversee Venezuela’s affairs pending a political transition, after the arrest and transfer of President Nicolás Maduro to New York.
Reports by Reuters noted that the deal is expected to boost crude supply to the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, thereby putting pressure on global prices.
The falling oil price poses a challenge to Nigeria’s 2026 budget implementation, as current market levels are below the benchmark price adopted in the fiscal plan.
On December 19, President Bola Tinubu presented the N58.18 trillion 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, anchored on a crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel.
According to the president, the projections were based on conservative assumptions contained in the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
Tinubu said the framework assumed crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
He added that the proposed budget has a deficit of N23.85 trillion, representing about 4.28 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
