Economy
Cardoso Says Nigeria’s Inflation Will Moderate in 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has said inflation would moderate this year from the current level of 28.92 per cent in December 2023.
He disclosed this while speaking at an event organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) on Wednesday.
“Inflationary pressures are expected to decline in 2024 due to the CBN’s inflation-targeting policy, which aims to rein in inflation to 21.4 per cent,” Mr Cardoso said.
“The outlook for decreasing inflation in 2024 will have a profound impact on businesses, providing a more predictable cost environment and potentially leading to lower policy rates, stimulating investment, fueling growth and creating job opportunities,” he said at the event which he joined virtually.
The central banker also said the Naira was currently undervalued, adding that his administration was working towards ensuring that the local currency reaches its real value soon.
“We believe that the Naira is currently undervalued,” Mr Cardoso said. “And coupled with coordinated measures on the fiscal side, we will expedite genuine price discovery in the near term.”
Inflation has accelerated and stood close to a 27-year high of 28.92 per cent in December.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN will meet for the first time since July 2023 late next month (February 26).
At the last meeting which was chaired by the then-acting governor of the apex bank, Mr Folashodun Shonubi, the interest rates were raised by 25 basis points to 18.75 per cent.
Market analysts expect the CBN committee to raise the interest rates, with some expecting as high as 200 basis points to 20 per cent.
Mr Cardoso has promised reforms, including a switch to inflation targeting from trying to control the money supply.
However, these measures have not taken root since he took office in September last year.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is facing a biting cost-of-living crisis worsened by reforms including the floating of exchange rate and the abolition of fuel subsidies instituted by President Bola Tinubu.
Although the moves have been hailed as positive, however, the average Nigerian has experienced a dip in consumption while the Naira has dropped steeply.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Seven price gainers triggered a 0.73 per cent appreciation in the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Tuesday, January 13.
The advancers were led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N5.06 to its value to close at N75.00 per unit versus the preceding day’s N68.70 per unit, followed by MRS Oil Plc, with a price appreciation of N5.06 to sell at N200.00 per share compared with the previous session’s N194.94 per share, and Air Liquide expanded by N1.00 to settle at N14.00 per unit versus N13.00 per unit.
Further, Food Concepts Plc climbed by 31 Kobo to N3.37 per share from N3.06 per share, IPWA Plc appreciated by 11 Kobo to N1.23 per unit from N1.12 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 6 Kobo to N6.90 per share from N6.84 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc grew by 1 Kobo to end at N1.29 per unit versus Monday’s closing price of N1.28 per unit.
The gains recorded by these seven securities raised the market capitalisation by N15.95 billion to N2.2 trillion from the preceding session’s N2.184 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) added 26.65 points to close at 3,678.13 points compared to 3,651.48 points.
Business Post reports that three stocks she weight yesterday, with Afriland Properties Plc down by N1.49 to N14.73 per share from N16.22 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 64 Kobo to N40.13 per unit from N40.77 per unit, and UBN Property Plc lost 1 Kobo to close at N2.05 per share versus N2.06 per share.
Yesterday, the number of deals executed soared by 39.6 per cent to 67 deals from 48 deals, the total value of transaction surged by 84.1 per cent to N86.1 million from N46.8 million, while the volume of trades shrank by 59.6 million to 1.6 million units from 4.03 million units.
CSCS Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 2.0 million units sold for N81.4 million, trailed by MRS Oil Plc with 265,697 units worth N53.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N43.4 million.
By volume, Geo-Fluids Plc topped the chart with 6.4 million units valued at N43.4 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 3.1 million units transacted for N1.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 2.0 million units valued at N81.4 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira further appreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, January 13 by N1.80 or 0.13 per cent to N1,419.66/$1 from Monday’s N1,421.46/$1.
This was boosted by an inject of $50 million into the official forex market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in an effort to defend the local currency.
At the same spot market, the Nigerian currency improved its rate against the Pound Sterling during the session by N1.86 to close at N1,913.98/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,915.84/£1 and gained N5.09 on the Euro to settle at N1,656.59/€1, in contrast to the N1,661.68/€1 it was transacted a day earlier.
At the parallel market and the GTBank FX counter, the Naira maintained stability against the DOllar yesterday at N1,490/$1 and N1,431/$1, respectively.
Market analysts have noted that proper CBN support, stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), improving current account dynamics, and more disciplined FX management will give the Naira stronger footing in the near term, with threats coming from externalities.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was elevated on Tuesday as US inflation eased and political uncertainty around the Federal Reserve increased demand for non-sovereign assets.
Ease in US inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting rates this year. Lower inflation eased pressure on bond yields and improved liquidity conditions, a setup that has historically favored crypto and other risk assets.
Also, reports that the US Justice Department had served grand jury subpoenas on the Federal Reserve earlier this week unsettled markets and weakened the Dollar, boosting the appeal of assets viewed as insulated from central bank risk.
Cardano (ADA) surged by 7.5 per cent to $0.4206, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 6.2 per cent to $3,321.77, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 5.8 per cent to $0.1472, Ripple (XRP) rose by 3.9 per cent to $2.14, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 3.1 per cent to $936.96, Litecoin (LTC) jumped by 3.1 per cent to $78.58, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 2.9 per cent to $94,662.42, and Solana (SOL) soared by 1.6 per cent to $144.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bulls have refused to leave the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as they further lifted the market by 1.59 per cent on Tuesday on the back of continued bargain-hunting.
The bourse recorded a significant rise yesterday as a result of the gains posted by some large-cap equities, including MTN Nigeria and others.
The sterling performance was across the key sectors of Customs Street, except the insurance counter, which went down by 0.06 per cent due to mild profit-taking.
However, the banking segment appreciated by 1.33 per cent, the consumer goods index soared by 0.74 per cent, the energy index grew by 0.39 per cent, the industrial goods space gained 0.10 per cent, and the commodity landscape improved by 0.01 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 2,592.63 points to 165,837.32 points from 163,244.69 points and the market capitalisation increased by N1.661 trillion to N106.182 trillion from N104.521 trillion.
Caverton, PZ Cussons, Deap Capital, eTranzact, and MTN Nigeria all gained 10.00 per cent during the session to settle at N7.70, N58.30, N3.63, N18.15, and N605.00, respectively.
However, Universal Insurance lost 6.25 per cent to close at N1.20, Prestige Assurance declined by 5.81 per cent to N1.62, Regency Alliance slumped by 5.17 per cent to N1.10, Academy Press depreciated by 5.06 per cent to N7.50, and Royal Exchange dropped 3.98 per cent to sell for N1.93.
A total of 55 stocks ended on the advancers’ log and 13 stocks finished on the laggards’ end, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
The activity level was mixed, with the trading value up by 75.00 per cent to N33.6 billion from N19.2 billion.
But the trading volume was slightly down by 8.33 per cent to 1.1 billion shares from the 1.2 billion shares recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals decreased by 17.09 per cent to 49,216 deals from 59,359 deals.
For another trading day, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the activity chart with the sale 343.5 million units shares worth N1.1 billion, Access Holdings traded 86.2 million equities valued at N2.0 billion, eTranzact transacted 61.1 million stocks worth N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 49.9 million shares valued at N88.0 million, and Chams pulled a turnover of 35.4 million equities for N139.2 million.
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