Travel News

By Alao Abiodun

Nigerians entering the United Kingdom will no longer be required to show evidence of the COVID-19 Test as a precondition for coming into the country.

The new order will take effect from Friday, March 18, 2022.

The UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said the restrictions to be lifted include the passenger locator form (PLF) for arrivals into the UK and all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated.

Consequently, unvaccinated passengers will no longer be required to take a pre-departure test and a second-day post-arrival test.

The advisory titled: ‘Travel Abroad’ guide, published on the UK government website, reads: “If you will arrive in England from abroad after 4am, Friday 18 March, you do NOT need to: take any COVID-19 tests – before you travel or after you arrive; fill in a UK passenger locator form before you travel.

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - The dollar index turned up for the day on Wednesday shortly after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by the expected quarter of a percentage point and projected its policy rate would go as high as 2% by the end of the year.

The index against major currencies rose about 0.1% on the announcement after having been down 0.2% shortly before.

Earlier in the day dollar had fallen 0.6% as the euro, a major component of the index, climbed amid signs of compromise by Russia and Ukraine in "more realistic" peace talks.

The euro was last up 0.1% to $1.0964.

Moscow said the sides were discussing a status for Ukraine similar to that of Austria or Sweden, both members of the European Union that are outside the NATO military alliance. Ukraine's chief negotiator said it would give Kyiv binding international security guarantees to prevent future attacks. read more

The Russian ruble was last down 7% against the greenback.

Sterling rose 0.2% to $1.3068, after hitting a 16-month low of $1.3000 on Tuesday. Money markets expect the Bank of England to raise rates by another quarter point on Thursday.

UK consumers continue to face rising costs of petrol and diesel as prices hit another record high on Tuesday, despite falling oil prices.

According to the RAC, the average price for petrol was 164.98p per litre, while diesel reached 176.04p.

Figures from data firm Experian Catalist showed the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts has increased by 16p in the past month, which has made the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car nearly £9 more expensive. The cost of diesel has also gone up by 24p in the past month alone.

A full tank of unleaded for a family car is now almost £91, and diesel nearly £97.

Simon Williams, fuel spokesman for the RAC, said drivers “badly need a break from these relentless daily rises”.

“Drivers can save nearly 4p a litre by buying their fuel at one of the big four supermarkets where the average for petrol is 161.20p and 171.58p for diesel which would save them £2 a tank,” he said.

“We continue to remain hopeful that retailers will soon start to pass on recent reductions in the price of wholesale fuel to drivers when they next buy supply.”

He added: “The big question is how keen will retailers be to pass on those savings at the pumps as they will no doubt be extremely conscious of protecting themselves from any more rises that could suddenly materialise.

“With the Spring Statement just a week away drivers will be looking to the Chancellor to end their misery by cutting duty or VAT. One thing’s for sure simply reiterating that fuel duty has been frozen at 58p a litre simply isn’t going to cut it.”

Oil prices have surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, but have declined in the last few days amid peace talks and rising cases of COVID in China.

Brent crude (BZ=F) is currently trading at $99.41, falling back under the key $100 mark after soaring as high as $139 per barrel last week, a 14-year high. US light crude (CL=F) was $96.16 at the time of writing.

It comes as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday that global oil demand growth this year will be 35% lower than previously forecast due to the geopolitical conflict.

The Paris-based agency cut the forecast for world oil demand for the second to fourth quarters of this year by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd).

It noted surging commodity prices and sanctions on Russia "are expected to appreciably depress global economic growth" and impact inflation.

Global oil demand growth in 2022 will be 35% below previous forecasts, slashed by 950,000 bpd to 2.1 million bpd to average 99.7 million bpd for the full year. This is the third year of demand below pre-COVID levels.

IEA expects Russian output to slump by a quarter in April, adding that three million bpd of Russian crude and products may go offline at the start of next month.

By  Abdullateef Aliyu

The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has said the association is talking to domestic airlines to ensure steady supply of aviation fuel for their operations.

Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Clement Isong, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos, said the engagement followed the House of Representatives intervention and the supervision by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

Isong empathised with all stakeholders, including Nigerians who are struggling with the current situation which he said was the consequence of the increment in the price of crude oil at the international market.

He blamed the hike in the price of crude oil and its derivatives such as aviation fuel, petrol, diesel and kerosene on the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine as well as the rise in foreign exchange.

He said, “We understand their pains even the Federal Government that is paying a higher cost to subsidise petrol.

“The rise and fall of oil prices is cyclical. We have been here before and we are hoping that within a short period that international supply of crude will adjust to meet demand and prices will come down to more acceptable levels.”

Isong, however advised the domestic airlines to change the way they do business to enable them get steady supply of aviation fuel to run their operations.

He said, “There is aviation fuel in the country. However, the product is expensive. Many of us who have contracts with international airlines have to keep stocks for them.

“Now, international airlines pay for their products based on a pricing formula. So it is predictable. There is no quarrel on the price. It is Platts plus Premium.

“The Premium is fixed. The Platts, which is a price benchmark service for the oil industry, goes up and down pending on the international market price.

“So the pricing template is transparent and predictable. I should also add that we buy the product in forex and the foreign airlines pay in forex. So there is no forex risk.

“For the local airlines, there are two challenges. First of all they don’t like signing binding contracts based on pricing formula. They prefer running from one marketer to another trying to get products at cheaper rates.

“Secondly, many of them are owing. They are owing millions of naira to the industry not just marketers alone. When they finish from one marketer, they run to another one.”

According to him, the marketers are demanding that the airlines pay up their debts because the burden on the industry is becoming too much.

Explaining further, he said adopting a pricing formula means that the marketers must commit to a volume of products that would be supplied to the the airline within a specific period.

Isong said, “The pricing formula means that you buy over a period of one month a certain quantity of products and the airline must pick that product.

“So when they have agreed, you go and buy that volume and you keep for them but if they don’t agree, you can’t keep that volume for them.

“The domestic airlines have to change the way they do business. This is what the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari has asked them to do.

“There are international best practices that they need to adhere to in running their businesses.

“This include a pricing based formula committing to volumes and also clearing their outstanding debts to ensure smooth operations in the sector.

“If they adopt this method, marketers can take the risk of buying products and keeping for them in our tank farms but they need to commit to volume because that is how the business is done.”

The commissioner said there has been encouragement from the residents’ association of the area, transporters, and traditional rulers, adding that there won't be “any resistance at all.”

By Oluwakemi Adelagun
 

The Lagos State government on Wednesday said the reopening of the Lekki tollgate cannot be avoided as the company in charge, the Lekki Concession Company (LCC), owes both local and foreign lenders billions of naira.

Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information and strategy, while speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Wednesday, said LCC owes local lenders about N11.6 billion and foreign lenders $31.1 million.

The Lekki tollgate, situated along the Lekki-Epe expressway, began operations in 2011 despite protests by Lekki residents.

The tollgate was shut down following last year’s deadly #EndSARS protests which saw men of the Nigerian Army open fire on unarmed protesters at the toll plaza.

The nearby Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, also operated by LCC, was similarly shut down after the incident.

The company, however, announced on Monday that it would resume activities link bridge on April 1.

But the Lekki tollgate remains shut.

‘Stakeholders Engagement’

Mr Omotoso’s comments come one year after the LCC made a case for the reopening of the tollgate.

He said the reopening of the Lekki tollgate was due to the engagement and encouragement from the residents’ association of the area, transporters, and traditional rulers, adding that there won’t be “any resistance at all.”

“The first time that LCC went to the place, it was not just to open the place and begin to collect toll, it was just for the company to go there and see the kind of damage to its equipment and how such damage can be redressed. And not for them to go there and begin to toll,” he said.

“Even this one, you would agree with me, has taken about 18 months for LCC to plan to return to the toll gate because it has no choice after owing local lenders about N11.6bn and foreign lender about $31.1m. So, there is no way that LCC can just stay away from going back to tolling on that road.”

The commissioner also said that the company has about 500 staff members on its payroll and they have been idle for about 18 months.

“Also, there are about 500 workers at LCC, about 90 per cent of them have been idle for the past 18 months and they have families to feed; they have friends and relations to attend to. So, for the company to want to return now, and like I said, people have shown tremendous understanding,” the commissioner said.

Mr Omotoso said that he discovered that people who have resisted the reopening of the Lekki toll gate are residents outside the country.

“They send messages from thousands of miles away asking people not to go there and pay a toll while saying all manners of unprintable things about the tollgate and others,” he said.

He said if the company stays away from toll, “I do not know how it is going to pay its debts, I do not know how about 500 workers, most of them young men who are just starting their families, I don’t know how they are going to be able to cope with their lives.”

(Bloomberg) -- Italy is set to scrap most Covid-19 restrictions at the end of the month, when the emergency period that allowed the government to adopt the measures expires.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s cabinet will meet Thursday to approve a two-phase plan to ease curbs, according to a person briefed on the proposal.

The move mirrors similar initiatives in other European countries and comes even as the region faces an increase in the daily number of cases, partly due to the spread of the highly infectious -- but apparently less deadly -- BA.2 subvariant of the omicron strain.

Starting in April in Italy, a Covid-19 pass will no longer be required for outdoor dining and people will be allowed to enter their workplace with only a negative Covid test, the person said. At the moment, vaccination against the virus is mandatory for all workers.

Italy to End Emergency State Two Years After Pandemic Started

From May, it will be possible to enter any dining venue without proof of vaccination, the person added. Curbs will be further eased in schools and on transportation.

The Italian government will continue to imposed mandatory vaccination for people over 50 years of age until June and maintain fines for those who do not comply.

(Bloomberg) -- Italy is set to scrap most Covid-19 restrictions at the end of the month, when the emergency period that allowed the government to adopt the measures expires.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s cabinet will meet Thursday to approve a two-phase plan to ease curbs, according to a person briefed on the proposal.

The move mirrors similar initiatives in other European countries and comes even as the region faces an increase in the daily number of cases, partly due to the spread of the highly infectious -- but apparently less deadly -- BA.2 subvariant of the omicron strain.

Starting in April in Italy, a Covid-19 pass will no longer be required for outdoor dining and people will be allowed to enter their workplace with only a negative Covid test, the person said. At the moment, vaccination against the virus is mandatory for all workers.

Italy to End Emergency State Two Years After Pandemic Started

From May, it will be possible to enter any dining venue without proof of vaccination, the person added. Curbs will be further eased in schools and on transportation.

The Italian government will continue to imposed mandatory vaccination for people over 50 years of age until June and maintain fines for those who do not comply.

By Chiamaka Okafor

<em>"This is not true. It is still possible to apply for any category of UK visa in the usual way on gov.uk and via our Visa Applications Centres (VAC) in Nigeria," the statement said.</em>

The British High Commission, Wednesday, in a statement said it is not suspending student, work and family visas for Nigerian applicants.

This is following a misinterpretation of a previous release by the mission announcing the temporary suspension of priority services on visa application for students, work and family.

This is as a result of the UK's decision to prioritise applications made under the Ukraine family scheme in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion" of Ukraine.

"This is not true. It is still possible to apply for any category of UK visa in the usual way on gov.uk and via our Visa Applications Centres (VAC) in Nigeria," the statement said.

The Ukraine family scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK. They will also be able to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds.

The High Commission added that Visa Application Centres (VACs) remain open and customers are welcome to apply for a standard visa of any category in the usual manner which includes student, family, work and visit visas.

However, due to a re-prioritisation of resources in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine, the UK has temporarily suspended its priority visa service.

"As our 15 March statement made clear, this temporary suspension only applies to the UKVI's expedited, added-value 'Priority' and 'Super Priority' visa services. This suspension is to enable the UKs global visa operation to prioritise applications for the new Ukraine Family Scheme," it added.

This decision to suspend priority visa services is also clearly stated on UKVI's guidance page, which sets out the latest decision waiting times for visa applicants outside the UK.

The British High Commission in Nigeria will issue an updated statement the moment 'Priority' and 'Super Priority' visa services resume.

According to Tuesday's statement, "customers with standard applications in study, work, and family routes may experience some delays in the processing of their application."

"We are still currently unable to offer PV for visitor applications in Nigeria. Standard visitor visa applications are currently taking an average of six weeks to process.

The statement advised applicants not to visit VACs until they are invited; assuring that applicants will be contacted when their passport is ready for collection.

"Where there are extremely compassionate or compelling circumstances (for example, a medical emergency), UKVI may consider expediting specific cases. However, the bar for this is high and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"If a request is exceptionally urgent, applicants can contact UK Visas and Immigration for help. Please note that this is a chargeable service for overseas customers."

Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at PREMIUM TIMES in partnership with Report" for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian government will no longer require vaccinated travelers to get tested for Covid-19 before entering the country, starting on April 1.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced the change on Thursday, saying in prepared remarks that “high vaccination rates and strong adherence to public health measures have pushed us through the peak of the Omicron wave.”

The move comes as Covid restrictions across the country are loosened. Previously the federal government had required a pre-entry molecular Covid test.

“As the weather warms up and people spend more time outside, we can expect to see transmission decline in the coming months, but we have to be prepared for a waning of collective and individual immunity,” Duclos said.

Vaccinated travelers entering Canada may still have to undergo random testing after April 1, he said. There is no change to testing requirements for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers who must still do a PCR test upon arrival and quarantine for 14 days.

(Bloomberg) -- Sydney, scene of some of the world’s fastest house-price growth, is showing early signs of turning down.

Having soared almost 27% in 2021, the city’s stratospheric prices, growing supply and talk of interest-rate rises are souring people on buying. The epicenter of Australia’s A$10 trillion ($7.2 trillion) residential market and home to roughly a fifth of the population is seeing a change in psychology.

“People were very, very panicky about missing out last year,” said Matt Cleland, a buyers agent at PMC Property Buyers in Sydney’s northern seaside suburb of Manly. “All that panic has diminished now. There are quite a few properties that are having to reduce prices.”

A key economic impact of a market reversal would be an inversion of the wealth effect, where homeowners consume more as prices rise. It could also weigh on the job market as declining values have significant spillovers in Australia, where construction is a major employer. Indeed, the Reserve Bank was taken aback before the pandemic at the hit from the last correction. 

Soaring house prices aren’t all good news, either: Australia’s debt-to-income ratio has climbed to almost 185%, according to the latest data, which is from the end of September. The prospect of the first rate hike since 2010 suggests higher mortgage repayments will further eat into consumption.

“Households may feel a little bit less wealthy,” said Belinda Allen, a senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s largest lender. “There’s a higher elasticity on spending with wealth on things like cars.”

Early signs of a downturn in a city like Sydney can be obscure. Eliza Owen at property consultancy CoreLogic Inc., says a key leading indicator is diminished demand for homes in high-traffic locations in popular inner-city areas.

One such spot is Addison road, a busy thoroughfare in the gentrifying inner-west suburb of Marrickville, where a slew of houses sold in rapid succession. But the latest property to hit the market, a three-bedroom, one bathroom pile, drew little interest at open inspections and then failed to sell at auction.

It has now been listed for sale at A$1.69 million, below the lower-end of the A$1.72-A$2.3 million for comparable homes in the area sold recently.

“It really does start to stem from the inner city suburbs and that’s where we think some of the deepest declines at the moment are,” Owen said. “Then it gradually tends to ripple out into more peripheral areas of Sydney.”

CoreLogic estimates the number of properties on the market has climbed by 5% as sellers try to cash in before the boom ends, further weighing on prices. 

Australian regulators have also been tapping the brakes on property. In October, they raised the minimum interest-rate buffer that lenders need to account for when assessing home-loan applications, citing growing risks to financial stability. They signaled more curbs were likely to come.

What Bloomberg Economics Says...

“Rising interest rates and the prospect of tighter macro prudential policy are major headwinds for Sydney’s property market, given rapid increases have resulted in house prices testing affordability limits.”

-- James McIntyre, economist

Australia isn’t alone in struggling with frothy asset markets and housing in bubble territory. Prices from New York to Tokyo have been soaring in response to cheap finance. Australia’s cash rate currently stands at a record-low 0.1%. 

Sydney is currently the world’s least affordable housing market after Hong Kong, with the median price 15.3 times the average household income in 2021, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability 2022 Edition. Since before the pandemic, Sydney median prices have risen 4.3 years of median household income, it said.

Bloomberg Economics expects Sydney will be Australia’s worst-performing market this year, forecasting a 3% decline. Commonwealth Bank predicts a similar drop. 

Others say the fall will begin this year and then intensify in the next: National Australia Bank Ltd. expects an 11.4% fall in 2023; AMP Capital Markets sees a 1% decline this year and then a 10% tumble next; and Westpac Banking Corp expects a flat outcome then a 9% drop in 2023. 

Buyers agents say there is more evidence of demand drying near the top-end of the market.

“I just got a call from an agent regarding a house which is really struggling at his price guide. He is suggesting to me that we could buy it cheaper than they thought at the commencement of the campaign,” Cleland said. “There’s quite a few examples of that stuff going on.”