Business

IMF Warns Nigeria, Others Of Hunger-induced Unrests

Published

3 years ago

April 29, 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Nigeria and other Sub Saharan countries against hunger-related social unrests as a direct consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which combined with inflation, rising debt poses a major threat to economic growth in the region.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Nigeria and other African countries of the possibility hunger-related social unrests ahead, as a direct consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This was contained in its Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook released in Washington DC, United states of America, yesterday.

Africa is said to depend on Russia and Ukraine for about 50 percent of its wheat import.

The Director, African Department, Mr. Abebe Selassie who virtually briefed the press said: “Food price increases will hurt the most vulnerable and may add to social tensions, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected states. Food security is already a critical issue across the Sahel.

“Finally, this is a crisis on top of another crisis, of course, one which threatens to compound some of the region’s most pressing policy challenges, including the pandemics social and economic legacy, heightened security risks, particularly in the Sahel countries and tightening monetary policy conditions in advanced economies, in response to rising global inflation.”

Selassie, who briefed the press on the outlook noted that African policy makers faced challenges of high inflation, rising debt , as well as, hunger-related social unrests and must act fast to address them, though noting that there was little room to maneuver.

The director noted that at the start of 2022, and even a little after, in this third year of the pandemic, it looked like Sub-Sahara African countries were beginning to recover from the very difficult economic conditions they had encountered in 2020 and 2021 but that unfortunately, most countries in the region were facing a major setback.

He said: “This follows Of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has affected global commodity markets, and it represents a significant setback to the global economy and more so for most Sub Saharan African countries.

“This latest crisis will be quite consequential for most vulnerable people in the most vulnerable countries in Sub Saharan Africa. The invasion has triggered of course a global economic shock that is hitting the region at the most difficult time, one in which many countries remaining policy space has been significantly depleted.

“Most directly, several countries are highly dependent on wheat imports. With some sourcing a large proportion of the imports directly from Ukraine and Russia are going to be impacted as well. Higher fertilizer and oil prices will also increase the cost of harvesting, the cost of production and provision of goods and services and erode the living standards quite a bit in many countries.

“Surging oil and food prices are straining external and fiscal balances of many commodity importing countries, exacerbating regional inflation pressures.”

Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

2 days ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

The Naira experienced a slight depreciation on Friday at the official market, trading at N1,528.56 to the dollar.

Data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira lost N2.73.

This represents a 0.17 percent loss compared to the N1,525.82 recorded on Thursday.

The Naira, which opened the week on Monday with a gain of N9.52 against the dollar, held steady gains until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the local currency gained N3.42 against the dollar and received commendation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, in its 2025 Article IV Consultation report on Nigeria, commended the CBN for its reforms to the foreign exchange market, which supported price discovery and liquidity.

Business

JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

Published

2 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Nigerians may soon pay more for petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery on Friday increased its ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit to N880 per litre, raising fresh concerns over fuel affordability and price volatility in the downstream sector.

Checks on petroleumprice.ng, a platform tracking daily product prices, and a Pro Forma Invoice seen by The PUNCH confirmed the hike, representing a N55 increase from the previous rate of N825 per litre.

The increment would ripple across the entire fuel distribution chain, likely pushing pump prices above N900/litre in some parts of the country, especially in areas far from the distribution hubs.

The hike comes despite global crude prices falling. Brent crude dipped by 3.02% to $76.47, WTI fell to $74.93, and Murban dropped to $76.97 on Friday. The decline in benchmarks offers little relief due to persistent fears of sudden supply disruptions.

The refinery has increased its reliance on imported U.S. crude and operational costs amid exchange rate instability, which adds to its pricing pressure.

On Thursday, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his 650,000-barrel capacity refinery is “increasingly” relying on the United States for crude oil.

This came as findings showed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is projected to import a total of 17.65 million barrels of crude oil between April and July 2025, beginning with about 3.65 million barrels already delivered in the past two months, amid ongoing allocations under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude policy.

Dangote informed the Technical Committee of the One-Stop Shop for the sale of crude and refined products in naira initiative that the refinery was still battling crude shortages, which had led it to resort to imports from the United States.

On Monday, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, accused oil marketers of exploiting Nigerians through inflated petrol prices, insisting that the current pump price of PMS should range between N700 and N750 per litre.

He criticised the disparity between falling global crude oil prices and the stagnant retail price of petrol in Nigeria.

“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of PMS, convert that to litres and then to our Naira, you will see that with crude at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per litre.”

He asserted that if Nigerians bear the brunt of higher fuel costs, they should be allowed to enjoy the benefit of low pricing.

His forecast of increased costs now appears spot on, considering the latest developments.

Marketers are already adjusting. Depot owners and fuel distributors in Lagos and other cities anticipate a domino effect, with new price bands expected to follow Dangote’s lead.

Many had held back pricing decisions since Tuesday, when the refinery halted sales and withheld fresh PFIs. The delay fueled speculation, allowing opportunistic price hikes across various depots.

Business

Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Published

1 month ago

May 24, 2025

Editor

The Naira, which has seen steady appreciation against the Dollar all week, closed stronger on Friday, trading at ₦1,580.44 in the official forex market.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website show the Naira gained ₦4.51k against the Dollar on Friday alone.

This marks a 0.28 per cent appreciation from Thursday’s closing rate of ₦1,584.95 in the official foreign exchange window.

The local currency maintained consistent strength throughout the week, recording gains daily.

On Monday, May 19, it traded at ₦1,598.68; on Tuesday, at ₦1,590.45; and on Wednesday, at ₦1,584.49.

These gains suggest increased investor confidence and improved forex supply, contributing to the naira’s performance.

Meanwhile, the CBN, at its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting held Monday and Tuesday, retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 per cent.