Economy
Naira Firms to N1,566.82/$1 at NAFEX, Falls to N1,635/$1 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The local currency moved in diverse directions on Thursday in the official market, which is the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), and the black market.
It appreciated against the US Dollar in the official market during the session by N14.83 or 0.94 per cent to quote at N1,566.82/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,581.65/$1 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened in the FX market yesterday in a bid to stabilise the volatile landscape.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange indicated that the forex turnover significantly increased by 152.5 per cent or $164.98 million during the session to $273.14 million from the preceding session’s $108.16 million.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Thursday by N26.60 to close at N2,063.96/£1 versus N2,037.36/£1 and shed N21.78 against the Euro to trade at N1,733.23/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,711.45/€1.
Yesterday, the central bank sold Dollars to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators at N1,450/$, far below the previous day’s official market rate.
The apex bank sold on the condition that they resell to eligible end-users at a margin not more than 1.5 per cent above the purchase rate.
This came after they missed out on $123 million sold to 46 authorised dealers, which were mainly commercial banks.
But this could not calm nerves in the parallel market, where the Naira lost N20 against the greenback during the session to settle at N1,635/$1 versus the midweek’s closing rate of N1,615/$1.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that most of the tokens tracked by this newspaper were in the red zone, with Ripple (XRP) losing 6.2 per cent to $0.5537 after rumours of a potential settlement in the Ripple and US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit turned out not to be the case. Since the market had picked up on the news, market analysts noted that a correction was due.
Cardano (ADA) declined by 5.1 per cent to $0.4256, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 3.7 per cent to $0.1259, and Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 1.4 per cent to trade at $71.32.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 1.3 per cent to $64,125.12, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 0.6 per cent to $572.88, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 0.4 per cent to finish at $3,435.97, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) shed 0.06 per cent to $0.9999, while Solana (SOL) appreciated by 2.7 per cent to $163.96, with the US Dollar Coin (USDC) unchanged at $1.00.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
