Economy
August 2017 Inflation to Drop to 15.99%—FSDH
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Analysts at FSDH Research have projected inflation rate (year-on-year) for the month of August to further moderate to 15.99 percent from 16.05 percent in July 2017.
In its latest report, FSDH said the expected decrease in the inflation rate is largely attributed to the downward movement in some categories of non-food items in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket, as well as decrease in some food prices.
A check by Business Post on the data release calendar on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the stats agency will release the inflation rate for August on Friday, September 15, 2017.
In February 2017, the inflation rate declined for the first time in 15 months by 0.94 percent and it has been going down gradually since then.
According to FSDH, the monthly Food Price Index (FPI) that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released yesterday indicates that the Index averaged 176.6 points in August 2017, 1.30 percent lower than the July 2017 value.
According to the FAO, the decline in the FPI for August 2017 reflected generally lower values for cereals, sugar and meat than prior month and more than compensated for the increase in the vegetable oil and dairy prices.
The FAO Sugar Price Index decreased by 1.7 percent in August, from July 2017 and has been on downward trend since the beginning of 2017. The decline in the FAO Sugar Index was mainly driven by favourable prospects for cane harvests in major producing countries.
The FAO Cereal Price Index was also down by 5.40 percent in August 2017. Cereal prices were driven downwards by large global supplies. The FAO Meat Index was also down by 1.2 percent in August, compared with July figure. On the flip side, The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index was up by 2.50 percent, driven by rising quotations for palm oil and soy oil. The FAO Dairy Price Index also appreciated by 1.4 percent in August 2017.
“Our analysis indicates that the value of the Naira depreciated marginally at both the inter-bank and parallel markets. The value of Naira lost by 0.07 percent to close at N305.85/$ at the inter-bank market and lost by 0.27 percent to close at N368/$ at the parallel market at the end of August 2017, compared with July 2017. The marginal depreciation in the value of the Naira is not expected to have a significant negative pass-through effect on local prices because of the fall in price of major imported food items in the international food market.
“The prices of some of the food items we monitored in August 2017 moderated downwards, while a few major items recorded price appreciation. The movement in the prices of food items during the month resulted in 1.19 percent increase in our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index to 251.83 points.
“Our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index increased by 20.23 percent to 251.83 in August 2017, compared with 209.45 in August 2016.
Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels; Transport; and Furniture and Household Equipment Maintenance Indices increased at various magnitude during the period.
“Our model indicates that the general price movement in the consumer goods and services in August 2017 increased the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) to 239.27 points, representing a month-on-month increase of 0.95 percent.
“We estimate that the increase in the CCPI in August 2017 would produce an inflation rate of 15.99 percent marginally lower than the 16.05 percent recorded in July 2017,” FSDH said in the report titled Inflation Watch.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite signs that Nigeria’s headline inflation is easing, rising food prices continue to threaten the country’s inflation outlook, the chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf, has warned.
He noted that structural inflationary pressures in the real economy remain pronounced despite improving macroeconomic stability.
In a policy brief released following the inflation report, he noted that headline inflation eased marginally, while month-on-month change moderated from 1.75 per cent to 1.66 per cent, indicating that headline inflation has largely plateaued.
According to him, the dominant concern in the latest inflation report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
This growth, he said, suggested that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation.
Warning that a renewed increase in food inflation has significant economic and social implications, he stressed that food inflation remained the biggest driver of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, stressing that rising food prices continue to erode household purchasing power, worsen poverty and food insecurity while weakening the inclusiveness of the current reform programme.
He maintained that sustained moderation in food prices is critical to improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public confidence in the ongoing economic reforms.
Acknowledging the easing of core inflation as encouraging, he drew attention to the persistence of urban inflation.
At 16.08 per cent, urban inflation exceeded the national headline inflation rate of 15.91 per cent, while month-on-month urban inflation increased from 1.99 per cent to 2.13 per cent.
According to Mr Yusuf, the figures indicated that inflationary pressures remained particularly intense across urban centres.
He attributed the rising urban inflation partly to increasing population displacement from rural communities affected by insecurity, expressing worry that as more households migrate to urban areas, demand for housing, transportation, utilities and other essential services would increase, adding to inflationary pressures and creating additional urbanisation challenges.
Addressing insecurity in farming communities, he said, was important not only for protecting lives and property and boosting agricultural output but also for easing cost pressures in urban centres, adding that the June CPI data reinforced the view that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is predominantly structural rather than monetary.
On the monetary policy outlook, he said the data do not justify further monetary tightening, arguing that headline inflation has largely stabilised.
The CPPE chief expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to retain the current monetary policy rate at its next meeting, adding that the priority is for monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to accelerate structural reforms to expand food supply, improve logistics, reduce energy and production costs, lower debt service costs, as well as strengthen domestic value chains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The new equities were added to the company’s existing stocks on Customs Street on Thursday, July 16, 2026, a notice from the bourse confirmed.
Business Post reports the total new ordinary shares of Sterling Holdings listed yesterday were 13,812,239,000 units.
They were from the offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each sold for N7.00 per share, which was oversubscribed by investors.
The financial institution brought the new shares to the stock exchange to increase its total issued and fully paid-up shares to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 52,117,012,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 13,812,239,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc were on Thursday, July 16, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N7.00 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have now increased from 52,117,012,414 to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the notice read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.
The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.
“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.
The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.
Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.
Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.
“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.
According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.
The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.
