Economy
Nigeria’s Inflation Nears 30%, Hits 29.90% in January 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s headline inflation neared the 30 per cent mark as it increased by 0.98 per cent to 29.90 per cent in January 2024 from 28.92 per cent in December 2023, beating analysts’ expectations of 29.54 per cent.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08 per cent higher than the 23.82 per cent recorded in January 2023.
Recall that a few days ago, this newspaper reported that Meristem Research projected inflation to rise by 0.62 per cent to 29.54 per cent last month.
The continued increase in inflation has been attributed to the policies of President Bola Tinubu, including a partial removal of fuel subsidies and a unification of exchange rates that has seen the price of goods and services skyrocket.
“Food prices have continued to go beyond the reach of consumers due to the forex crisis and insecurity in the northern part of the country, where most of the food items come from,” the Meristem analysts said.
The NBS data today revealed that on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 2.64 per cent, which is 0.35 per cent higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.29 per cent). This means that in January 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in December 2023.
Giving a breakdown, the stats office noted that Food and Non-alcoholic beverages contributed 15.5 per cent to the headline index, followed by Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels with 5.0 per cent as Clothing and Footwear saw a 2.3 per cent contribution.
Transport added 1.9 per cent while Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Maintenance added 1.5 per cent and Education saw a 1.2 per cent rise. Others like Health, Miscellaneous Goods and Services among others saw less than 1 per cent contribution respectively.
The NBS showed that Nigeria’s food inflation rate in the reviewed month was 35.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 11. per cent points higher than the 24.32 per cent posted in January 2023.
The rise in food inflation was caused by a rise in the rate of increase in the average prices of potatoes, yams, other tubers, bread and cereals, fish, meat, tobacco, and vegetables.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate was 3.2 per cent, this was 0.5 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2023 (2.72 per cent).
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending January 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 28.91 per cent, which was a 7.4 per cent points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in the same period of 2023 (21.53 per cent).
While urban inflation was 31.95 per cent, rural inflation came in at 28.1 per cent in December 2023.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
