Economy
Peter Obi Fumes as CBN Hikes Cargo Clearing Rate to N1,605/$1
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again increased the exchange rate for customs cargo clearance by 9 per cent or N133.06 from N1,472.76/$1 to N1,605.82/$1.
The new rate, which has already been reflected on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) portal, will further dampen the hope of importers, and trigger an increase in the price of imported products like food, fuel, spare parts, and phones, among others.
The CBN had recently reduced the exchange rate from N1,515.48/$1 to N1,472.756/$1 after the market eased following some recent policy steps.
This review will be the 12th since the foreign exchange (FX) market was floated in June last year to allow the Naira to trade freely as dictated by the whims of supply and demand.
On June 24, 2023, the CBN adjusted the exchange rate from N422.30/$ to N589/$, and on July 6, 2023, it was adjusted to N770.88/$. On November 14, 2023, it was adjusted to N783.174/$, and in December 2023, it was adjusted to N951.941/$.
Also, on February 2, 2024, it was moved to N1,356.883/$ and on February 3, it was raised to N1,413.62/$ before it was on Saturday, February 10 changed to N1,417.635/$.
On Monday, February 11, it was moved to N1,444.56/$1 and on Wednesday, February 14, the CBN adjusted the exchange rate to N1481.482/$1 and then adjusted it to N1,515.092/$1 on Thursday, February 15.
The House of Representatives decried the regular adjustments to the import duties rates, calling for its reduction and on Friday, February 16, 2024, the CBN reduced the rate to N1,472.756/$1 before hiking it again on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, to N1,605.82/$1.
The move has garnered reactions from many political actors, including the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, who charged the federal government to stop the arbitrary and ever-increasing customs duties as it is now negatively impacting businesses and the cost of items, and this portends a huge danger to the economy.
The businessman, who contested in the 2023 general elections, said, “Such arbitrary charges will obviously lead to further closure of businesses, and attendant job losses. This is because at the time of the initiation of the business, calculations, including duties, have been made based on the prevailing exchange rate, and the prevailing market prices.”
“If this situation is not corrected, our importers may resort to using ports of nearby countries, a situation that will leave our ports under-productive, and further deepen our economy into a worse situation as a result of loss of revenue,” he warned in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He pleaded with the government to show consistency in its policies as this will help with economic forecasting and business planning, adding that saving businesses should be a top priority.
“All efforts of the government should be directed at supporting businesses, especially those in the manufacturing sector, to keep their businesses afloat and keep the economy growing, as the small business sector remains the most critical engine of economic growth.
“We cannot afford to target high customs revenues at the expense of the survival of local businesses, employment and reasonable cost of living,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Five securities ended on the gainers’ table of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday, May 21, lifting the platform by 1.71 per cent at the close of business.
The gains recorded by the quintet increased the market capitalisation of the NASD exchange by N42.64 billion to N2.538 trillion from N2.495 trillion, and raised the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 71.28 points to 4,242.47 points from the 4,171.19 points reported on Wednesday.
The gainers were led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc, which chalked up N13.11 to sell N164.06 per unit versus N150.95 per unit, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.39 to trade at N74.20 per share versus N71.81 per share, 11 Plc improved by N22.11 to N244.53 per unit from N243.21 per unit, Food Concepts Plc rose by 23 Kobo to N2.58 per share from N2.35 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 6 Kobo to N3.00 per unit from N2.94 per unit.
There were three price losers yesterday, led by Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc, which gave away N1.56 to sell at N25.44 per share compared with the previous day’s N27.00 per share, Afriland Properties Plc lost 95 Kobo to close at N15.95 per unit versus N16.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc depreciated by 1 Kobo to 60 Kobo per share from 61 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 40.5 per cent during the session to 3.2 million units from 2.3 million units, and the number of deals soared by 23.5 per cent to 42 deals from 34 deals, while the value of securities fell by 71.6 per cent to N94.8 million from N334.2 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 61.1 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.
GNI Plc also finished as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar ended at N1,372.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, May 21, indicating an appreciation of N1.03 or 0.07 per cent against the United States Dollar. In the preceding session, the rate closed at N1,373.34/$1, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Nigerian currency further improved its value against the Euro in the same market segment yesterday by N1.75 to settle at N1,590.78/€1 compared with midweek’s value of N1,592.53/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 26 Kobo, closing at N1,840.26/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s rate of N1,840.00/£1.
In the black market and at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1 and N1,379/$1, respectively.
It was gathered that interbank FX liquidity turnover for the session was $116.043 million across 105 deals, higher than the $68.020 million achieved a day earlier.
The central bank will continue with its current policy direction to sustain the fight against inflation and stabilise the exchange rate, with Governor Yemi Cardoso noting earlier this week that exchange rate stability remained the centrepiece of the apex bank’s policy toolkit.
The central banker said the structure of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has changed significantly under the ongoing reforms introduced by the apex bank, adding that increased market liquidity has reduced the need for heavy intervention by the CBN.
According to him, daily foreign exchange market turnover has risen sharply from about $100 million when the current administration took office to roughly $550 million presently, with transactions occasionally climbing to as high as $1 billion in a single day.
He said the apex bank expects turnover to consistently hit the $1 billion mark in the future as more reforms take effect.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was mixed during the session, as liquidations were split between longs and shorts and did not reflect a one-sided capitulation. Market analysts noted that rising long-term US Treasury yields and geopolitical tensions, particularly around US-Iran relations and oil prices, are seen as the main headwinds.
TRON (TRX) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.3647, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.7 per cent to $655.16, Cardano (ADA) added 0.7 per cent to trade at $0.2495, and Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.4 per cent to $86.55.
However, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.9 per cent to $1.35, Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 0.5 per cent to $77,227.47, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.3 per cent to $2,121.80, and Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 0.1 per cent to $0.1049, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled lower by 2 per cent on Thursday as uncertainty over prospects for resolving the US-Israel conflict with Iran weighed on the market, with Brent crude futures trading at $102.58 a barrel after it shed $2.44 or 2.3 per cent, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures at $96.35 per barrel after it lost $1.9 or 1.9 per cent.
Prices had earlier surged on reports that Iran’s supreme leader issued a directive that dented hopes for a swift resolution to the war, before reversing course later in the day.
The directive from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei could further complicate negotiations and frustrate US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the war.
President Trump then later said the US will eventually recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which the US believes is destined for a nuclear weapon, though Tehran says it is intended purely for peaceful purposes.
Meanwhile, Iran has announced a new “Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” which would oversee a “controlled maritime zone” in the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway that controls about 20 per cent of crude and gas flows. It also warned against further attacks and unveiled steps to entrench its control of the strait, which remains mostly closed.
Economic activity in the Euro zone shrank at its sharpest rate in more than 2-1/2 years in May as a war-driven surge in living costs hammered demand for services across Europe, and firms accelerated layoffs.
Seven leading oil-producing countries in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will likely agree to a modest hike in July output when they meet on June 7. The monthly target set by the members is expected to be raised by about 188,000 barrels per day, a figure which has been trimmed since May after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) left the group.
OPEC+ held output steady in the first quarter of 2026 but has raised its target each month since April, despite the war. Despite the hikes, the war has reduced oil production to 33.19 million barrels per day in April from 42.77 million barrels per day in February, with output by Gulf producers falling by 9.9 million barrels per day.
In the US, an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report on Wednesday showed that the country withdrew nearly 10 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) last week for its biggest drawdown on record. US crude inventories also fell by more than expected last week, according to EIA data.
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