Business
Jobless claims fall, weak exports push up trade deficit
WASHINGTON – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, in a boost to the labor market outlook and the broader economy.
Other data on Thursday showed a weakening in exports in December, which if it extends to January could see trade being a drag on growth in the first quarter after it helped to buoy the economy in the last three months of 2013.
“The underlying economic trend is still positive,” said Craig Dismuke, chief economic strategist at Vining Sparks in Memphis.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 331,000, the Labor Department said. That was a bit lower than economists’ expectations for a fall to 335,000 in the week ended February 1.
The data has no bearing on January’s employment report, which will be released on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period. Still, it bodes well for the jobs market.
The dollar extended gains against the euro and was little changed against the yen after the claims data, while U.S. Treasury debt prices fell and stock index futures rose.
Hiring is expected to have accelerated in January after being held down by unseasonably cold weather the prior month.
Nonfarm payrolls likely increased 185,000 last month, up from December’s tepid 74,000 count, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at a five-year low of 6.7 percent.
That would be confirmation that the economy continued to expanded after robust growth in the second half of 2013, which was driven by consumer spending, inventory accumulation and trade.
But economy could lose some support from trade. In a separate report, the Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased 12 percent to $38.7 billion in December as exports recorded their largest decline since October 2012.
When adjusted for inflation, the trade gap rose to $49.5 billion in December from $45.0 billion the prior month.
The government in its first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP last week cited trade as one of the key contributors to the economy’s 3.2 percent annual growth pace during the period.
Trade added 1.33 percentage points to fourth-quarter GDP growth as exports expanded at their quickest pace in three years and imports slowed.
There are, however, doubts that the robust export growth pace can be sustained in light of slowing growth in markets like China. December’s fall in exports could bolster that view.
In December, exports dropped 1.8 percent to $191.3 billion. However, petroleum exports hit a record high in December.
Imports edged up 0.3 percent to $230.0 billion in December. Imports of consumer goods hit a record high, but the impact was limited by a fall in the average price of imported crude oil, which hit its lowest level since February 2011.
The economy’s solid performance in the fourth quarter was mirrored by sturdy gains in productivity.
In another report, the Labor Department said productivity rose at a 3.2 percent annual rate after increasing at a 3.6 percent pace in the third quarter.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, rising at a 2.5 percent rate in the last three months of 2013.
Still, the underlying trend remained soft, with productivity increasing 1.7 percent compared to the same period in 2012. For all of 2013, productivity increased 0.6 percent.
That was the smallest gain since 2011 and compared to a 1.5 percent rise in 2012.
Unit labor costs – a gauge of the labor-related cost for any given unit of output – fell at a 1.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter, showing weak wage-related inflation pressures in the economy. Unit labor costs fell at a 2.0 percent rate in the third quarter.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected unit labor costs to fall at a 0.5 percent pace in the fourth quarter.
Labor costs were down 1.3 percent from the year-earlier period. They were up 1.0 percent in 2013, the weakest reading since 2010.
– REUTERS
Dangote Cement Plc has recorded a strong performance in the first quarter of 2026, growing its cement and clinker exports from Nigeria by 71.6 per cent, as the Group’s total installed production capacity reached 55 million tonnes per annum (MTA) across Africa.
During the period under review, the company completed 10 clinker shipments from Nigeria to neighbouring markets, further consolidating its position as Africa’s leading cement exporter.
According to the company’s unaudited Q1 2026 financial results, total sales volumes increased by 13.8 per cent year-on-year, driven by growth of 11.5 per cent in Nigeria and 19.5 per cent across its pan‑African operations.
Commenting on the performance, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, Arvind Pathak, said the results reflected the strength of the company’s operating model and its disciplined execution across markets.
“We have delivered an outstanding start to 2026, with revenue up 20.4 per cent year‑on‑year to ₦1.198 trillion, driven by a strong rebound in volumes which grew 13.8 per cent across our markets. EBITDA increased by 22.8 per cent to ₦567.1 billion, demonstrating the strength of our operating model, disciplined cost control, and our ability to convert growth into superior profitability,” he said.
For the quarter, Dangote Cement reported a profit before tax of ₦421.1 billion, representing a 35 per cent increase from ₦311.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. Earnings per share rose to ₦19.14, up from ₦12.29, underscoring sustained value creation for shareholders.
On exports and expansion, Pathak noted the rapid scaling of Dangote Cement’s export business and progress across key growth projects.
“Our export business continues to scale rapidly, with volumes from Nigeria up 71.6 per cent and 10 clinker shipments completed in the quarter. This performance reinforces our strategic position as Africa’s leading cement exporter,” he said.
“Following the commissioning of our 3Mta grinding plant in Côte d’Ivoire, we are progressing well with our expansion projects in Itori and Ethiopia, alongside other growth initiatives across the continent. These investments will further strengthen our footprint and keep us firmly on track to reach 80Mt of production capacity by 2030.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Pathak expressed confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
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“We have entered the year with strong momentum and a clear strategic focus. Demand across our markets remains resilient, our expansion pipeline is delivering, and our operational discipline continues to drive margin improvement. We remain confident in sustaining this growth trajectory and in consistently delivering long‑term value to our shareholders.”
Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer, with 55.0MTA installed capacity across the continent. A fully integrated quarry‑to‑customer producer, the company operates 35.25MTA capacity in Nigeria, where its Obajana plant in Kogi State—the largest in Africa—has 16.25MTA capacity across five lines. The Ibese plant in Ogun State has 12MTA, Gboko plant in Benue State has 4MTA, while Okpella plant in Edo State has 3MTA.
Through sustained investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s reliance on imported cement and transformed the country into a net exporter of cement and clinker, supplying markets across West and Central Africa.
CAPTION: Aliko Dangote in Norway:
President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote (right) presenting a souvenir to the Chief Executive Officer of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), Nicolai Tangen during a meeting in Norway.
In the face of continued global crude market disruptions, Nigeria is gearing efforts towards new markets.
Chairman, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Wole Ogunsanya, made the revelation at the opening ceremony of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas on Monday.
He opined that Nigeria must move beyond traditional buyers and aggressively seek alternative markets to remain competitive and maximise revenue.
According to him, recent developments within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including moves by some members to act independently, signal the need for Nigeria to rethink its crude marketing strategy.
“We must start developing markets outside our traditional destinations. It is not enough to rely solely on OPEC frameworks; we need to secure buyers for our crude in a more proactive manner,” he said.
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Ogunsanya noted that Nigeria produces some of the best crude grades globally and should leverage this advantage to penetrate new markets across Africa, Europe and other regions.
He stressed that expanding market access has become even more critical as Nigeria pushes to increase oil production and support the growing capacity of domestic refineries.
“With refining capacity in Nigeria expected to ramp up significantly, we must ensure consistent supply while also identifying external markets for excess production,” he added.
The PETAN chairman said participation in OTC provides a strategic platform to engage potential investors, partners and off-takers, as well as to showcase Nigeria’s capabilities in the oil and gas sector.
He also highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen collaboration among African countries through the African Local Content initiative, which he said would support cross-border investments and market expansion.
Ogunsanya further emphasised the need for improved efficiency and adoption of modern technology to keep Nigeria’s crude competitive in the global market.
He warned that failure to secure new markets could expose the country to price volatility and reduced earnings, especially in a rapidly changing global energy landscape.
Despite challenges such as visa constraints affecting participation at this year’s OTC, he said Nigeria’s strong presence at the conference demonstrates its determination to remain a key player in the global oil and gas industry.
As crude oil deliveries bow to supply disruptions in the Middle East, oil giants, Exxon Mobil and Chevron have reported drops in profit in the first quarter of 2026 despite surging oil prices.
Exxon’s quarterly earnings fell to $4.2 billion from about $7.7 billion the same quarter last year, a decline of about 46 per cent, while Chevron’s profits fell to $2.2 billion from about $3.5 billion, down about 37 per cent. Still, both companies beat Wall Street expectations.
However, America’s two largest oil companies are still expected to eventually reap the benefits of soaring oil prices, which reached levels unseen since 2022 this week as the war in Iran continues, Reuters reported.
In a prepared statement, Exxon said that “timing effects” and volume impacts in the Middle East reduced reported earnings; when excluding those effects, the company reported $8.8 billion in profit. At Chevron, unfavourable timing effects totaled about $3 billion for the quarter, according to the company.
“One of the things that we called out in our press release was the timing,” Darren Woods, Exxon’s chair and chief executive officer, said in an interview. “As you close the quarter in the volatile market, you book the hedges, the paper, but the physical barrels are in inventory until they get delivered.
“So you get this deferred profit that we wanted to basically highlight, and make sure that our investors understood that the work that we’re actually doing to meet the demands today are resulting in benefits not necessarily booked in the quarter,” Woods added.
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At the start of the war, Donald Trump declared on Truth Social: “The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.”
Certain oil and gas companies are already reaping the benefits. BP announced that its profits more than doubled in the last quarter, crediting “exceptional oil trading” for its highest quarterly profit since 2023 – an announcement that led advocacy groups and some European finance ministers to call for greater taxes on windfall profits.
Other earnings reports indicate that it may take longer for oil companies to report clear gains. ConocoPhillips, a partner in Qatar’s state gas company, cut its forecast annual output due to disruptions in Qatar’s liquified natural gas operations caused by the war. Iranian attacks on QatarEnergy LNG’s export plant will take years to repair, state energy officials have said.
Chevron and Exxon’s stock jumped at the start of the war but eased in April as the US and Iran agreed on a ceasefire and the reopening of the strait of Hormuz. And Lockheed Martin, a key defense contractor with the federal government, initially saw its stock jump 25 per cent since the start of the year, but has since dropped to roughly the same levels.
Meanwhile, gas prices at the pump continue to climb, with the current average reaching $4.39, up from $3.187 a year ago. Americans are also facing fears of elevated inflation and slow job growth amid turmoil in the Middle East.
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