Economy
Naira Appreciates to N1,442/$1 as Edun Eases Airstrike Fears
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira resumed from the Christmas holiday on Monday, December 29, with an 87 Kobo or 0.06 per cent gain against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to sell for N1,442.51/$1, in contrast to last Wednesday’s price of N1,443.38/$1.
Equally, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.91 to close at N1,945.66/£1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,949.57/£1 and gained N3.91 on the Euro to finish at N1,697.40/€1 versus the previous session’s closing price of N1,701.65/€1.
At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the greenback during the session by N8 to settle at N1,457/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s rate of N1,465/$1 and at the black market, the Naira gain N5 to finish at N1,480/$1.
The value of the Naira firmed up on Monday after receiving support from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who reassured investors and international partners that Nigeria’s economy remains stable and resilient despite a recent joint security operation conducted by Nigerian and the US forces in Sokoto on Christmas Day.
The operation, carried out on December 25, targeted ISIS-linked camps in Sokoto, with no reported civilian casualties.
US President Donald Trump described the strikes as “powerful and deadly” against “ISIS terrorist scum,” endangering Christian communities.
Ahead of the market reopening from the long Christmas break, Mr Edun stressed that Nigeria was “not at war with itself, nor with any nation,” but was decisively confronting terrorism in collaboration with trusted international partners.
This alongside efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) helped eased pressure on the local currency. The apex last week stepped up FX intervention with $150 million.
The market expects near-term exchange rate stability to persist underpinned by policy measures and improving market confidence.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens declined in thin year-end trading, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $87,300, down about more than 2 per cent alongside some top coins, with BTC losing 2.3 per cent to finish at $87,366.73.
Further, Cardano (ADA) declined by 6.5 per cent to $0.3521, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.1 per cent to $123.76, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.9 per cent to quote at $2,944.55, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.8 per cent to $0.1232, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $1.86, Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 1.7 per cent to $78.15, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.3 per cent to $853.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
Economy
Morison Industries Lists N400.3m Private Placement Shares on Customs Street
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The additional shares sold by Morison Industries Plc through private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The additional equities were brought to Customs Street last week, according to a circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai.
The company listed a total of 266,838,125 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.50 per unit, amounting to N400.3 million, Business Post reports.
The listing of these new stocks of Morison Industries has increased the fully paid-up shares of the organisation to 1,256,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 989,161,875 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that additional 266,838,125 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Morison Industries Plc were (on) Tuesday, January 13, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 266,838,125 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.50 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Morison Industries Plc have now increased from 989,161,875 to 1,256,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure disclosed.
Economy
Bankers Forecast Single-Digit Inflation for Nigeria in 2026
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has projected a single-digit inflation rate for Nigeria at 9.84 per cent in its wider optimistic forecast for this year.
In its 12th National Economic Outlook and Its Implication for Businesses in 2026, the bankers group saw a better metric compared to those of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The CBN and the IMF respectively see Nigeria’s economy growing at 4.49 per cent and 4.2 per cent, and the inflation rate dropping to 14.45 per cent and 18 per cent while the foreign reserves rise to N45.78 billion and $43 billion respectively this year.
However, in the outlook presentation by Professor Biodun Adedipe, the CIBN projects a 4.51 per cent GDP growth rate and a 9.84 per cent inflation rate. It forecast the exchange rate stabilizing at N1,420/$1 and the foreign reserves hitting $50.8 billion.
Business Post reports that Professor Adedipe, corporate finance scholar and founder of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd, has been presenting the national economic outlook since 12 years ago, with the firm claiming to initiate the trend in Nigeria, before even the CBN and others caught on with it.
Last week, after a revised approach Nigeria’s headline inflation eased to 15.5 per cent year-on-year in December 2025, down from 17.33 per cent in the preceding month. On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 0.54 per cent in December, compared to 1.22 per cent in November.
Ahead of the data release, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had cautioned that the rebasing exercise could result in a temporary “artificial spike” in the December inflation figures.
Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, the statistician-general of the federation, said the adjustment in the reference period, known as the base year, would affect the headline number.
“This artificial spike is a result of the base effect of December 2024, which is equated to 100, following the rebasing exercise,” Mr Adeniran said.
Economy
NCR Nigeria Records 60.79% Week-on-Week Rise on NGX
By Dipo Olowookere
Eighty equities appreciated on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week compared with the 84 equities recorded in the previous week, as 17 equities depreciated versus 22 equities in the preceding week, while 50 equities remained unchanged versus 42 equities of the earlier week.
NCR Nigeria gained 60.79 per cent to finish at N128.55, SCOA Nigeria grew by 59.36 per cent to N14.90, Deap Capital expanded by 48.67 per cent to N4.46, Jaiz Bank soared by 45.73 per cent to N8.19, and Omatek surged by 38.28 per cent to N1.77.
At the other end, Ikeja Hotel lost 12.38 per cent to settle at N35.05, Austin Laz declined by 9.20 per cent to N3.75, Eterna crashed by 7.71 per cent to N32.30, Universal Insurance went down by 7.69 per cent to N1.20, and Eunisell retreated by 7.57 per cent to N156.95.
The bourse remained bullish in the week, with the All-Share Index (ASI) up by 2.36 per cent to 166,129.50, and the market capitalisation up by 2.48 per cent to N106.354 trillion.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher apart from the AFR Div Yield index, which depreciated by 0.15 per cent.
In the five-day trading week, investors traded 4.607 billion shares worth N130.636 billion in 263,439 deals, in contrast to the 4.164 billion shares valued at N94.026 billion transacted in 248,254 deals a week earlier.
Further analysis showed that financial stocks led the activity chart with 3.126 billion units worth N47.225 billion traded in 94,186 deals, contributing 67.84 per cent and 36.15 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities followed with 353.436 million units sold for N5.096 billion in 17,764 deals, while ICT shares exchanged 277.263 million equities valued at N18.009 billion in 28,525 deals.
Sovereign Trust Insurance, Access Holdings, and Linkage Assurance were the busiest stocks last week, trading 1.406 billion units valued at N9.735 billion in 11,732 deals, contributing 30.52 per cent and 7.45 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
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