By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Naira had a good outcome at the parallel market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, buoyed by a decline in the demand for FX.

There was a public holiday yesterday in Nigeria, which continues today to mark the end of Ramadan, a 30-day fast observed by Muslims across the globe.

The holiday ease the pressure on the local currency on Monday as most of the forex hawkers were at home for the Eid al-Fitr.

Business Post reports that the Naira gained N5 against the United States Dollar during the trading session to close at N1,550/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,555/$1.

This newspaper gathered that a few FX traders out for business yesterday did not have much to do because of the holiday declared by the federal government.

“It was a quiet day for us today (Monday. We did not see many customers to buy Dollars from us. It is the usual occurrence when there is a public holiday. We hope things will return to normal from Wednesday,” a forex trader, Mr Abubakar Ahmed, who spoke with Business Post, said.

The official market, known as the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), did not open for business because of the Eid al-Fitr celebration.

It last opened its doors for business last Friday, when it gained 65 Kobo or 0.04 per cent against the greenback to quote at N1,538.26/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,538.91/$1.

The appreciation happened as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) boosted forex liquidity to stabilize the market with about $1 billion last month.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices climbed on Monday on worries that crude supply could decline if the US President, Mr Donald Trump, follows through on threats to impose more tariffs on Russia and possible attack on Iran.

Brent futures were up by $1.11 or 1.5 per cent to $74.74 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by $2.12 or 3.1 per cent to settle at $71.48 per barrel.

Mr Trump on Sunday said he was “pissed off” with the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, for stalling on a Ukraine peace deal, and threatened new tariffs on Russia.

His comments marked a notable change in tone for the American President who had always been softer on Russia.

However, the latest remarks suggest he may be losing patience with the Russian leader.

President Trump said if Russia were to block a peace deal, he would impose “secondary” tariffs of 25 per cent on any country buying Russian oil, which would include China and India.

President Putin had imposed a series of conditions on potential peace deals which go far beyond existing US-led proposals, some of which effectively push out the Ukrainian President, Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia said on Monday that the US were working on ideas for a possible peace settlement in Ukraine.

In a related development, President Trump also threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mr Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Monday the US would receive a strong blow if it acts on Mr Trump’s threat.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized two foreign tankers in the Persian Gulf carrying over 3 million litres of allegedly smuggled diesel fuel.

Some analysts believe that President Trump may not act on his threats, a view that is putting a cap on oil prices.

Also, talks to restart Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have hit a snag as a lack of clarity over payments and contracts persists.

In another development that could impact oil supplies, the US revoked the license of Spanish oil company Repsol to export oil from Venezuela.

Repsol reportedly said it is talking with US authorities on ways the company can keep operating in Venezuela.

In the US, crude oil production fell by 305,000 barrels per day to 13.15 million barrels per day in January, the lowest since February 2024.

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