Economy
Local Currency Falls to N498/$1 as Speculators Monitor CBN
By Adedapo Adesanya
The local currency could not extend the gains it recorded on Thursday as it depreciated against the United States Dollar on Friday by N5 at the unregulated segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market.
News reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was supplying enough FX at the regulated channels caused demand for the hard currency on the streets to wane.
But yesterday, speculators took charge of the black market after the Naira initially traded at N490/$1 in the earlier hours trading. Their actions plunged the domestic currency to N498/$1 in the afternoon and at the close of transactions, according to the tracking done by Business Post.
At the preceding trading session, the local currency closed at N493/$1.
At the same segment, the domestic currency traded flat against the Pound Sterling at N710/£1 and further appreciated by N5 against the Euro to close at N595/€1 in contrast to N600/£1 it was sold at the market the day before.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the local currency, however, depreciated on Friday by 50 kobo or 0.12 per cent to end the session at N411/$1 compared to N410.50/$1 of the prior session.
The Nigerian currency suffered the loss amidst a decline in the demand of FX by 45.9 per cent or $63.39 million as transactions worth $74.81 million were recorded at the session in contrast to the previous day’s $138.20 million.
At the interbank segment of the market, the Nigerian currency slightly appreciated against the greenback yesterday by one kobo to quote at N410.20/$1 versus N410.21/$1 it was sold at the preceding session.
Meanwhile, regulations continue to cause a massive sell-off in the cryptocurrency market as countries move to restrict access in order to guarantee the adoption and success of their own digital currencies.
Italy recently joined the fray as the agency responsible for regulating the Italian securities market raised concerns over the cryptocurrency market without proper regulation.
On Friday, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 8.4 per cent to trade at N17,822,970.08, Ethereum (ETH) lost 3.8 per cent to sell at N1,174,000.00, while Ripple (XRP) dropped 6.2 per cent to trade at N395.71.
But Litecoin (LTC) gained 1.8 per cent during the session to quote at N85,000.00, Tron (TRX) rose by 2.3 per cent to sell at N36.79, the Dash (DASH) climbed higher by 1.2 per cent to N82,000.00, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to sell for N514.68.
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.
