By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar by N4.71 or 0.35 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, February 12, to N1,353.66/$1 from the N1,348.95/$1 it was traded on Wednesday.

Similarly, it weakened against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.53 to settle at N1,849.64/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,840.11/£1 and lost N8.55 against the Euro to close at N1,608.68/€1 compared with the N1,600.13/€1 it was exchanged at midweek.

Also, at the GTBank FX section, the Nigerian Naira suffered a N1 loss against the US Dollar yesterday to quote at N1,359/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s price of N1,358/$1, but closed flat in the parallel market at N1,430/$1.

The pullback witnessed by the Nigerian currency at the currency market on Thursday came as the market corrected from recent gains, with a further boost coming as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said all duly licensed Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators are permitted to purchase foreign exchange from the Nigerian FX market through any authorised dealer bank of their choice at prevailing market rates.

The move follows the apex bank confirmation in September 2025 that 82 BDC operators had been fully licensed under its revised regulatory framework, with operations commencing on November 27, 2025, as part of reforms aimed at formalising retail foreign exchange supply.

According to Mr Aminu Gwadabe, president of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), there are expectations that the CBN’s move will help the Naira-US Dollar exchange value.

He noted that BDC operators have started approaching their banks to understand the operational modalities and framework for accessing dollars.

“We expect before the close of the week a comprehensive take-off of operations,” he added.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin has mostly erased its bounce from last week’s crypto crash, returning to the $66,000 area. It tumbled by 1.9 per cent to $66,161.78 yesterday.

The sell-off in digital assets tracked a broader pullback in the tech sector, particularly in the software names with which Bitcoin has been so strongly correlated.

Solana (SOL) dropped 2.4 per cent to sell for $77.68, Ripple (XRP) dipped 0.7 per cent to $1.36, and Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.6 per cent to $1,938.96.

However, Cardano (ADA) added 1.7 per cent to trade at $0.2612, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.4 per cent to $0.0923, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $52.69, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 1.2 per cent to $610.55, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The crude oil market dropped on Thursday due to falling demand, retreating fears of renewed Middle East conflict and expected increases in supply.

Brent crude traded at $67.52 a barrel after going down by $1.88 or 2.71 per cent, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $62.84 a barrel, down $1.79 or 2.77 per cent.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its demand growth outlook, a revision that landed in a market already uneasy about how quickly supply is said to be rising.

Selling accelerated after the Paris-based agency trimmed its 2026 global demand growth forecast to 850,000 barrels per day. A month ago, it was expecting 930,000 barrels per day.

The agency still sees global supply expanding by about 2.4 million barrels per day this year. The balance between supply and demand looks heavy, especially once winter disruptions unwind.

January tightened the market for a moment. Storms shut in more than 1 million barrels per day in North America. Kazakhstan, Russia, and Venezuela were dealing with outages of their own. Global supply fell by roughly 1.2 million barrels per day, but it appears that those barrels are now starting to return.

On its part, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is projecting much stronger demand growth, above 1.4 million barrels per day.

Crude oil production from the OPEC+ alliance slumped by as much as 439,000 barrels per day in January compared to December as a major supply disruption in Kazakhstan added to lower output from Iran and Venezuela, OPEC data showed in its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR).

The unplanned outages and lower production could ease to some extent the fears of oversupply that have been weighing on oil prices.

On the geopolitical front, Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, said as he was departing the US, noting that President Donald Trump appeared to be framing a resolution to the conflict with Iran over nuclear weapons.

On Wednesday, the American President said after talks with PM Netanyahu that they had yet to reach a definitive agreement on how to move forward with Iran, but that negotiations with Tehran would continue.

Earlier this week, President Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East if a deal is not reached with Iran. The date and venue of the next round of talks have yet to be announced.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerian businessman, Mr Femi Otedola, has congratulated his billionaire friend, Mr Aliko Dangote, on the Dangote Refinery achieving its full nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, expressing optimism that this will further strengthen the Naira against the US Dollar in the currency market.

In an X post on Thursday, Mr Otedola described it as a transformative milestone for Nigeria and Africa, noting that the refinery’s operations could ease pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.

“I congratulate my friend and brother, @AlikoDangote, on the remarkable achievement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery reaching its full 650,000 barrels per day capacity.

“More importantly, it is transformational for Nigeria and Africa. Supplying up to 75 million litres of PMS daily changes our energy narrative and conserving foreign exchange.

“With domestic refining now firmly underway after decades of reliance on imports, pressure on the foreign exchange market should ease significantly. I am optimistic that the Naira will strengthen meaningfully, and trading below N1,000/$1 before year-end is increasingly within reach,” he wrote.

Earlier today, it was reported that all key components, including the naphtha hydrotreater, isomerisation unit, and reformer unit, of the single train refinery are now operating steadily at 650,000 barrels per day. This enables the facility to produce up to 75 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) daily, significantly boosting Nigeria’s domestic fuel supply and reducing reliance on imports.

The $20 billion refinery, Africa’s largest, began operations in 2023 and has been ramping up production amid challenges, including crude supply issues.

Mr Dangote announced plans in October 2025 to expand capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, which would make it the world’s largest refinery, surpassing India’s Jamnagar facility.

Mr Otedola added that his best friend is investing an additional $12 billion in this expansion, including the production of polypropylene and Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergents, with work already underway.

“Aliko is not stopping here. He has embarked on an additional $12 billion expansion to increase refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, alongside 2.4 million tons of polypropylene and 400,000 metric tons of Linear Alkyl Benzene for detergent production. Work has already commenced in earnest.

“Congratulations once again, my brother. Nigeria is proud of you,” he said.