Business

Naira Recovery Against Dollar To Begin February 2021 – CBN

Published

5 years ago

December 28, 2020

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the naira will begin recovery against the dollar and other global currencies from February 2021.

This was contained in the latest CBN Business Expectation Survey released by its Statistics Department.

The survey respondent firms, however, envisage higher interest rates from January, March till June 2021.

According to the report, although the naira has for several months depreciated against the dollar, the local currency appreciation against the greenback will start from February 2021 till July same year.

The December 2020 Business Expectations Survey was conducted online from December 7 to 11, 2020, with a sample size of 1,050 businesses nationwide.

A response rate of 91.3 per cent was achieved and the sample covered agriculture/services, manufacturing, wholesale/retail trade, and construction sectors. The respondents were made up of small, medium, and large corporations covering both import-oriented and export-oriented businesses.

On the state of the naira, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the local currency has lost over 26.72 per cent of its value so far in 2020.

He attributed naira’s continued decline to a heightened forex supply shortage, demand pressure, and rationing.

Rewane noted that for the naira rates to converge would require the adoption of a fully floating exchange rate system determined by the forces of demand and supply.

Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had called for unified exchange rate for the naira to promote growth and attractive foreign capital.

The CBN had last month devalued the naira by N6 to a dollar. The naira devaluation brought the local currency closer to the exchange rate unification agenda of the apex bank as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

In a weekly exchange rate for disbursement of proceeds of International Money Transfer Service Operators (IMTOs) for November 30, 2020, all authorised dealers, Bureaux De Change and Service Providers were advised to add N6 across all rates.

The naira was a month ago exchanging at N500/$ at the parallel market before it appreciated to N465/$ at the weekend. The local currency has, however, remained stable at N379/$ on the CBN’s official rate, a check at the apex bank’s website showed.

(NATION)

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Business

Naira Depreciates Against Dollar

Published

1 day 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.