Recent ranking by the World Bank, portrayed Nigeria as having a poor business environment based on the ease of doing business in 2016. Although, Nigeria moved one position forward from previous (2015) ranking, to attain the 169th position out of the 190 global economies reviewed4. This poor rating is resultant of a myriad of factors, including: difficulties in starting a business, enforcing contracts, inaccessibility to credit, tax payment issues, as well as unreliable supply of energy, and labour market regulations. Going forward, improving the efficiency of tax administration by adopting the latest technology to facilitate the preparation, filling and payment of taxes will be beneficial for the business community.

OPEC weekly basket price decreased marginally from $45.95 on June 24, 2016 to $45.26 on July 1, 2016,while Nigerias bonny light fell by $1, from $48.90 to $47.91. The apparent decline in crude oil price was driven by lingering market demand uncertainty, following the unexpected Brexit referendum. More so, ease in supply disruptions in Nigeria and Canada may have contributed to the downward pressure on prices. Going forward, until there is greater regulatory precision on global oil output levels, prices may likely remain stuck or continue to exhibit a downward trend. Although, Nigerias fiscal constraints slightly relaxed with oil production increasing in the review week (following repairs on sabotaged pipeline channels), potential global crude oil oversupply threatens governments revenues. However, oversupply threats could be reduced if there is a consensus on oil production quotas in the upcoming OPEC meeting.

OPEC basket price increased (Week-on-Week) by 1.6 percent to $49.45 per barrel on March 31, 2017- the first increase recorded in three weeks. Also, Bonny light rose by 4.7 percent to $51.92 per barrel. The rise in crude oil prices reflects demand-side expansion, consequent upon a myriad of factors: slower rise in USA crude reserves, huge supply disruptions in Libya, and the prospective extension of OPEC supply cut deals in member countries. The strengthening of crude oil price amid calm in the Niger Delta oil region, presents positive outlook for the Nigerian economy. However, given the adverse implications of sole dependence on crude oil revenue, the government should avoid returning to the norm and make efforts to intensify investments in other key sectors of the economy