By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira to the US Dollar further weakened in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, December 18 amid renewed forex demand pressure.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Nigerian currency lost N2.35 or 0.16 per cent on the greenback to close at N1,457.84/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,455.49/$1.

The local currency also moved in the same direction against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the same market window during the trading session.

It weakened against the British currency by N14.80 to sell for N1,958.03/£1 compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N1,943.28/£1 and tumbled against the European nation’s currency by N5.66 to quote at N1,712.38/€1 versus N1,706.72/€1.

A further N2 was lost by the Naira against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter yesterday, closing at N1,465/$1 versus the N1,463/$1 it was traded a day earlier, while at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,475/$1.

FX supply from the central bank, exporters, foreign portfolio investors and non-bank corporate channels remained insufficient to redirect the exchange rate.

Expectations of inflows from Detty December to alleviate need for FX demand have not materialised, as exorbitant local prices seems to be keeping spending at bay.

Despite the depreciation, the Naira outlook remains stable around the trading range even though the local currency has continued to give up early gain.

Meanwhile, the crypto market was down on Thursday due to profit-taking, with about $550 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours on derivatives markets, CoinGlass data shows, flushing out both short and long leveraged trading positions.

Cardano (ADA) gave up 4.3 per cent to sell for $0.35o6, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 3.9 per cent to trade at $0.1220, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.79, and Solana (SOL) recorded a decline of 3.2 per cent to finish at $119.39.

In addition, Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 2.4 per cent to $74.13, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.5 per cent to $830.55, Bitcoin (BTC) shrank by 0.8 per cent to $85,397.31, and Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.3 per cent to $2,823.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices edged marginally higher on Thursday as investors assessed the likelihood of further US sanctions against Russia and the supply risks posed by a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers.

Brent crude was up 36 cents or 0.6 per cent to $60.04 per barrel  and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 52 cents or 0.9 per cent to $56.46 per barrel.

Market analysts noted that crude futures are trying to find support from the Venezuelan oil export blockade, which if it continues will likely cause production in the area to be shut in with no destinations to ship out to.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Managing Director of Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Mr Wang Qiang, says the port has reached half of its designed operational capacity, with steady growth in container throughput since September 2025, reflecting increasing confidence by shipping lines and cargo owners in Nigeria’s first deep seaport.

“We already reached 50 per cent of our capacity now, almost 50 per cent of the port capacity.

“There is consistent improvement in the number of 20ft equivalent units (TEUs) handled monthly,” he said.

Mr Qiang explained further that efficient multimodal connectivity remains critical to sustaining and accelerating growth at the port.

According to him, barge operations have become an important evacuation channel and currently account for about 10 per cent of cargo movement from the port.

Mr Qiang mentioned that the ongoing Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road project would help ease congestion and improve access to the port.

He said that rail connectivity remained essential, particularly given the scale of industrial activities emerging within the Lekki corridor.

He said that Nigeria Government was concerned about the cargoes moving through rail and that the development would enhance more cargoes distribution outside the port.

Mr Qiang reiterated that Lekki port was a fully automated terminal, noting that delays may persist until all stakeholders, including government agencies, fully aligned with end-to-end digital processes.

He explained that customs procedures, particularly physical cargo examinations, and other port services should be fully digitalised to significantly reduce cargo dwell time.

“We must work together very closely with customers and all categories of operations for automation to yield results.

“Integration between the customs system, the terminal operating system and customers is already part of an agreed implementation schedule.

“For automation to work efficiently, all players must be ready — customers, government and every stakeholder. Only then can we have a fantastic system,” Mr Qiang said.

He also stressed that improved connectivity would allow the port to effectively double capacity through performance optimisation without expanding its physical footprint.