By Aduragbemi Omiyale

In March 2026, Nigeria became a net exporter of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, with Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals exporting 44,000 barrels per day (b/d) of the product.

This allowed the country to earn fresh foreign exchange (FX) to help boost the value of the Nigerian Naira in the currency market, which, in turn, will strengthen the economy.

In a statement on Monday, Dangote Refinery said it exported gasoline to East Africa for the first time, delivering a 317,000‑barrel cargo to Mozambique. The shipment reflects growing regional demand as East African buyers diversify supply sources away from the Middle East Gulf amid ongoing supply disruptions. A further gasoline cargo from the refinery is scheduled for delivery to Beira, Mozambique, in April.

Before now, Nigeria relied heavily on imported refined petroleum products from across the world, but this seems to be changing, especially at this time, the globe is experiencing supply disruptions due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

The March export milestone underscores Nigeria’s accelerating progress toward self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and strengthens its ambition to become a competitive supplier in the global downstream energy market.

Data from market intelligence firm Kpler showed that Nigeria’s gasoline imports fell sharply to 41,000 b/d in March, the lowest level ever recorded. At the same time, crude oil supply to the Dangote facility climbed to approximately 565,000 b/d, the second-highest intake since the 650,000 b/d-capacity refinery began operations in late 2023. The figures point to strong processing rates and rising product yields across the complex.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week positively against the Dollar on Monday, April 13, as it gained 70 Kobo to trade at N1,356.19/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) compared with the previous value of N1,356.89/$1.

The domestic currency also appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.67 to close at N1,825.15/£1 versus last Friday’s quoted rate of N1,828.82/£1, and improved against the Euro by N4.89 to settle at N1,587.69/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,592.58/€1.

Similarly, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback at the GTBank FX desk by N3 to N1,373/$1 from N1,376/$1, and at the parallel market, it maintained stability at N1,385/$1.

Meanwhile, interbank turnover surged to N114.887 million across 141 deals, up from N71.156 million on Friday, as per information on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website.

FX inflows into the NAFEM window moderated significantly, declining to $571.80 million from $1.06 billion in the previous week, according to Coronation Merchant Bank’s research report, indicating relatively tighter FX supply conditions.

The CBN had pledged to stabilise the Naira and boost sales of high-yield short-term debt to attract inflows of Dollars.

In the cryptocurrency market, risk assets shrugged off the failed weekend negotiations between the US and Iran and the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The move came alongside surging stocks and oil’s decline to back under $100 per barrel, largely due to the US not reaching an agreement with Iran in Pakistan after the US’s nearly six-week-long war campaign against Iran.

Ethereum (ETH) grew by 8.1 per cent to $2,362.57, Solana (SOL) surged by 4.9 per cent to $85.75, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 4.9 per cent to $74,321.71, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 3.0 per cent to $1.36, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 2.8 per cent to $612.83.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 2.3 per cent to close at $0.0930, Cardano (ADA) climbed 2.2 per cent to trade at $0.2427, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.2 per cent to $0.3207, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

By Dipo Olowookere

The upward movement seen recently at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued on Monday after it further grew by 0.34 per cent at the close of business.

Sustained bargain-hunting in some banking and consumer goods stocks kept the bulls intact on Customs Street, giving no room for the bears.

Data showed that investor sentiment was strong after the bourse finished with 30 advancing equities and 25 declining equities, indicating a positive market breadth index.

The gainers’ chart was led by NGX Group, which appreciated by 10.00 per cent to trade at N153.45. Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.81 per cent to N4.14, McNichols chalked up 9.74 per cent to finish at N7.10, VFD Group soared by 9.71 per cent to N11.30, and Chams gained 8.96 per cent to close at N3.65.

Conversely, the losers’ table was topped by Berger Paints, which fell by 9.95 per cent to N68.35. Academy Press lost 9.71 per cent to settle at N7.90, Caverton depreciated by 5.98 per cent to N5.50, Honeywell Flour crumbled by 4.92 per cent to N20.30, and CAP shed 3.81 per cent to quote at N96.00.

Access Holdings still led the activity chart during the session after it transacted 54.9 million shares valued at N1.4 billion, GTCO traded 43.5 million stocks worth N5.8 billion, Zenith Bank exchanged 42.2 million equities for N4.8 billion, Japaul sold 19.3 million shares valued at N57.5 million, and Chams posted a turnover of 19.1 million stocks worth N65.9 million.

When the closing gong was struck to signify end to trading for the session, market participants had traded 470.0 million equities for N32.5 billion in 60,793 deals compared with the 548.6 million equities valued at N31.5 billion executed in 48,538 deals in the previous trading day, a decline in the trading volume by 14.33 per cent, and a rise in the trading value and number of deals by 3.18 per cent and 25.25 per cent, respectively.

Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 688.44 points yesterday to 204,458.86 points from 203,770.42 points last Friday, and the market capitalisation surged by N443 billion to N131.609 trillion from N131.166 trillion.