Economy
Naira Depreciates at BDC Segment as CBN Resumes Weekly FX Sales
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira further depreciated against the US Dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Thursday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it will resume the suspended weekly forex sales to operators from Monday, August 31.
In a circular signed by the Director of Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, Mr O.S. Nnaji, it was stated that BDCs must not exchange the naira at more than N386/$.
The apex bank said the decision to resume sales of the foreign currency to BDCs is to allow travellers to get forex as the country prepares to resume international flights from next week.
The federal government had announced yesterday that international flights will resume on September 5 instead of the initially announced August 29.
Providing a breakdown of the rates, the CBN said: “Please be advised that the applicable exchange rate for the disbursements of proceeds of IMTOs for the period Monday, August 31 to Friday, September 04, 2020, is as follows:
IMTSOs to banks: N382/$1; Banks to CBN: N383/$1; CBN to BDCs: N384/$1; and BDCs to end-users: Not more than N386 volume of sale to each market is $10,000 per BDC.
The apex bank said FX sales to BDCs will hold on Mondays and Wednesdays in the first instance.
A look at the performance of the Naira against the US Dollar at the BDC window yesterday, according to data gathered by Business Post from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators (ABCON), showed that the local currency dropped against the greenback across the four major locations tracked.
At the Lagos BDC market, the domestic currency depreciated by 40 kobo against the Dollar to sell for N477/$1 as against the previous rate of N476.60/$1, while it appreciated by N1 against the Pound to close at N617/£1 versus N618/£1 and closed flat on the Euro at N552/€1.
In Abuja, the local currency weakened against the US Dollar by N2 to N477/$1 from N475/$1 and remained unchanged against the Pound at N620/£1 and as well traded flat against the Euro at N555/€1.
At the Port Harcourt market, the Naira lost 50 kobo against the greenback to close at N476/$1 in contrast to N475.50/$1 it previously closed but appreciated by N2 on the Pound to N612/£1 from N614/£1 and closed flat against the Euro at N553/€1.
At the Kano BDC market, the local currency depreciated by N2 against the American currency to quote at N477/$1 as against N475/$1 on Wednesday and fell by N13 against the Pound to N608/£1 from N595/£1 while on the Euro, it lost N4 to trade at N552/€1 versus N548/€1.
At another segment of the market, the Investors and Exporters (I&E), the Naira gained 25 kobo against the greenback to close at N385.75/$1 in contrast to N386/$1 a day before.
At the close of the session, investors exchanged a total of $43.16 million compared to the previous session’s $14.47 million, indicating a day-on-day rise of 198.3 per cent or $28.69 million.
At the black market, the local currency remained stable against the American currency at N477/$1. It, however, lost N3 each on the Pound and the Euro to close at N615/£1 and N555/€1 from N612/£1 and N552/€1 respectively.
At the interbank window yesterday, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate remained at N379/$1.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Steel, Mr Shuaibu Audu, says Nigeria is weighing measures to cut loses totalling $4 billion annually in foreign exchange (FX) to imported steel products.
He disclosed this during a press conference on Thursday to announce the maiden National Steel Summit coming up on July 15, 2025, assuring Nigerians that before the expiration of the first term of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the first section of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant should kickstart operation.
He stated that President Tinubu has been actively working to ensure the utilisation of the abundant raw steel materials in Nigeria and the emergence of a steel sector in the country.
Private players like Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, had initially planned to foray into steel manufacturing, but abandoned plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry after he said he was facing allegations of increased monopoly in Nigeria’s core sectors. He already has interests in food, energy, and cement sectors.
Mr Dangote earlier set his sights on the Nigerian steel market as a possible venture in the future after successful inputs in food, cement, and energy.
But last year, the billionaire businessman explained that the company’s board decided to avoid the steel industry to prevent accusations of attempting to monopolize it
“About doing a new business which we announced, that is the steel, our board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly, and imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that,” he said during an interview at the Afreximbank Afro-Caribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, in June 2024.
Mr Dangote called on other Nigerians to invest in the industry to help boost the country’s economy.
Despite the local material wealth, 70 per cent of Nigeria’s yearly steel demand of around 10 million metric tonnes is imported.
Nigeria spends the $4 billion on steel imports annually despite having around 74 steel plants and fabricators across the country, according to the Ministry of Steel Development.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The market capitalisation of NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange crossed the N2 trillion milestone again on Thursday, July 10 after the bourse expanded by 0.62 per cent.
During the trading session, the value of all stocks on the NASD exchange went up by N12.4 billion to finish at N2.005 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.992 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 21.18 points to settle at 3,424.19 points, in contrast to the previous session’s 3,403.01 points.
The alternative stock exchange recorded four price gainers at the session and two price losers.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N3.64 to close at N63.89 per unit versus N60.25 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N1.17 to end at N32.44 per share versus N31.50 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 40 Kobo to N4.79 per unit from N4.39 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc chalked up 1 Kobo to quote at 35 Kobo per share compared with the 34 Kobo per share it ended a day earlier.
On the flip side, Afriland Properties Plc lost N1.67 to trade at N19.17 per unit compared with the N17.50 per unit it was sold at midweek, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 1 Kobo to sell for N1.91 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.92 per share.
Yesterday, the volume of trades declined by 20.1 per cent to 3.08 million units from the 3.9 million units recorded a day earlier, but the value of transactions appreciated by 53.7 per cent to N25.1 million from N16.1 million, and the number of deals increased by 29.2 per cent to 31 deals from 24 deals.
Okitipupa Plc finished the session as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.8 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units sold for N4.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 42.0 million units worth N1.8 billion.
Impresit Bakolori Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 536.9 million units sold for N524.8 million, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million worth N4.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 270.7 million units sold for N486.0 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pressure was on the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday as it gave up 84 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to the US Dollar to close at N1,526.60/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,525.76/$1.
Similarly, it weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N3.14 to trade at N2,070.29/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N2,067.15/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N1.55 to settle at N1,783.26/€1 compared with the N1,781.71/€1 it was traded at midweek.
However, in the parallel market window, the Naira maintained stability against the greenback at the trading session, closing at N1,530/$1, the same rate it was exchanged a day earlier.
Despite its poor performance in the spot market, the Nigerian currency has endured intense pressure and it is projected to maintain relative stability within the range of N1,550 to N1,635 per Dollar for the rest of 2025, supported by improved investor confidence and planned external borrowings.
According to CardinalStone Research, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves will close the year at around $41 billion based on external loans worth $3.2 billion, which the Federal Government aims to secure in the second half of 2025 to meet fiscal obligations.
Additional capital inflows from portfolio investors are expected to continue coming, having recently supported the balance and pushed reserves above the $37.27 billion recorded at the end of June.
However, reserves have faced pressure due to sizeable debt repayments and ongoing interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to keep the Naira stable in the face of external shocks.
Meanwhile, the crypto market buzzed on Thursday, with Bitcoin (BTC) reaching new all-time highs after it gained 6.1 per cent to close at $118,196.20, triggering a splendid rally and causing Ethereum price to surpass the $3,000 psychological level.
This come as traders await over $5 billion in crypto options to expire on Friday for cues on market direction in the coming days.
Cardano (ADA) jumped by 12.9 per cent to $0.7010, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 10.2 per cent to $0.1995, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 8.1 per cent to $3,017.95, Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.3 per cent to $2.59, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 6.1 per cent to $96.13, Solana (SOL) added 5.3 per cent to close at $165.60, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 3.0 per cent to $692.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology5 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN