By Adedapo Adesanya

PwC Nigeria has projected that Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow at about 4.3 per cent this year, supported by higher crude oil production and stronger performance in dominant sectors.

The consultancy firm gave this projection in its Economic Outlook 2026 released on Wednesday.

It also said the Naira is expected to remain broadly stable through 2026, underpinned by ongoing reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and improved portfolio inflows.

Headline inflation is also projected to moderately ease, supported by the CBN’s tight monetary policy stance, rebasing effects, and improved stability in the foreign exchange market.

With regards to interest rate, the PwC report said with inflation trending down, the apex bank may cautiously ease its monetary policy stance this year.

The report, however, said fiscal sustainability risks are expected to persist, driven by low revenue to GDP, fiscal leakages, higher spending and elevated debt service obligations.

PwC Nigeria said with fiscal constraints persisting, they reinforce the importance of capital efficiency and balance-sheet discipline.

Against this backdrop, PwC Nigeria highlights practical imperatives for business leaders in 2026: making selective investment bets in attractive sectors and regions, and scenario-planning for macroeconomic and geopolitical shocks.

Other imperatives for business leaders include adapting business models and cost structures for resilience, accelerating digital transformation and responsible AI adoption, and strengthening regulatory and tax compliance as reforms move from design to execution.

The firm noted that Nigeria recorded improvements in macroeconomic stability in 2025 following key monetary and foreign-exchange reforms, with inflation easing, exchange-rate conditions stabilising, and external reserves strengthening.

Speaking on this, the Country Senior Partner, PwC Nigeria, Mr Sam Abu, said: “PwC Nigeria’s Economic Outlook 2026 provides forward-looking analysis of key macroeconomic indicators and what they signal for the economy and for business leaders.

“Nigeria has achieved improved macroeconomic stability over the past year. The focus now is how that stability is translated into sustainable economic growth, and how businesses position for 2026. For companies, this stability provides a more predictable operating environment for planning, investment, and growth decisions.”

On his part, the Partner and Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Mr Olusegun Zaccheaus, said, “Globally, growth is projected at around 3.1 per cent, while merchandise trade growth slows to about 0.5 per cent, keeping oil prices, capital flows, and access to foreign inflows as key channels influencing Nigeria’s growth and FX liquidity.

“Domestically, improved monetary effectiveness has reduced volatility and clarified pricing, cost, and funding signals, even as fiscal pressures, security challenges, and weak household purchasing power continue to shape sector outcomes.”

According to Mr Zaccheaus, “growth is more likely to remain concentrated in services and selected capital-intensive sectors, placing a premium on disciplined capital allocation and sector selection.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further appreciated by 1.08 per cent on Wednesday, January 7,  pushing the market capitalisation higher by N23.38 billion to N2.185 trillion from the preceding session’s closing value of N2.162 trillion.

Also during the trading session, NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) further went up by 39.08 points to close at 3,653.04 points compared with the 3,613.96 points recorded on Tuesday.

The midweek session witnessed a rise in the share prices of three securities on the unlisted securities market, with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc adding N3.40 to close at N42.14 per share versus the preceding day’s N38.74 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc expanded by N3.05 to finish at N59.92 per unit compared with the N56.87 per unit it ended a day earlier, and Geo-Fluids Plc jumped by 10 Kobo to end at N6.88 per share versus N6.78 per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities rose by 39.0 per cent to 1.9 million units from the previous day’s 1.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 29.5 per cent to N36.3 million from N28.0 million, while the number of deals slid by 19.6 per cent to 45 deals from 56 deals.

The most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis was CSCS Plc with 1.1 million units exchanged for N41.6 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 2.9 million units valued at N19.4 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 49,424 units worth N11.0 million.

In terms of volume, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc led with 2.9 million units traded for N1.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 2.9 million units sold for N2.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 1.1 million units traded for N41.6 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira extended its positive run against the US Dollar on Wednesday, January 7, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) as its value firmed up by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,418.26/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,419.07/$1.

It was not a different story for the domestic currency against the Pound Sterling in the official market as it improved by N3.63 to trade at N1,913.66/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,917.20/£1 and chalked up N3.09 on the Euro to close at N1,657.52/€1 versus Tuesday’s N1,660.31/€1.

At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira gained N10 against the greenback yesterday to settle at N1,425/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,435/$1 and closed flat at the black market at N1,470/$1.

The Nigerian currency has continued to perform better at the spot market amid more supportive environment, though analysts have cautioned that global oil market weakness and rising domestic insecurity could hamper the trajectory.

Recent reforms in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market are beginning to yield results with CardinalStone pointing to improved price discovery, better transparency, and stronger FX liquidity as factors that are helping to stabilize the currency.

“We expect Naira to appreciate to a range of N1,350.00/$ – N1,450.00/$ in 2026, supported by improving fundamentals,” according to CardinalStone in a January forecast.

On his part, the Senior Economist at Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr Yemi Kale, pointed out that the Naira could trade between N1,313/$1 to a worst level of N1,650/$1 reflecting varying assumptions around oil prices, foreign-exchange (FX) inflows, inflation trends, and policy consistency.

He warned policymakers against weak oil prices or production disruptions reducing FX inflows, deepening FX liquidity crisis and forced currency devaluation.

“We expect the Naira to continue trading in line with prevailing market demand and supply conditions, supported by improving external reserves position,” Anchoria Securities Limited said in a note.

Meanwhile, foreign reserves climbed to $45.623 billion following fresh inflows from investors that participated at the OMO bills auction organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday.

In the cryptocurrency market, there was cooling in the early-January crypto rebound even as broader risk backdrop stayed supportive with a rally in global government bonds and growing bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts, with Ripple (XRP) further down by 6.4 per cent to $2.11.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 4.2 per cent to trade at $3,111.31, Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.1 per cent to $0.3935, Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 3.6 per cent to $881.38, and Dogecoin (DOGE) depleted by 3.1 per cent to finish at $0.1432.

In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.8 per cent to finish at $90,015.06, Litecoin (LTC) decreased by 2.7 per cent to close at $80.72, and Solana (SOL) lost 2.6 per cent to sell $135.12, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.