Market News
CBN: Oil prices rally brightens naira, foreign reserves’ prospect - VANGUARD
By Peter Egwuatu, Assistant Business Editor
With Brent crude trading around $69 per barrel above Nigeria’s 2026 federal budget benchmark of $64.8, the price rally would largely bolster the country’s fiscal revenues, foreign exchange reserves and promote exchange rate stability.
Analysts posit that a full scale conflict disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20 per cent of global oil flows could send Brent prices surging to $91 or even $150 per barrel in weeks.
The NFEM rate had been as weak as N1,422.07/$1 on 22 January and N1,421.63/$1 on 23 January before easing to N1,418.95/$1 on Monday and N1,401.22/$1 on Tuesday. It improved to N1,400.47/$1. The break below N1,400/$1 on Thursday, therefore, represents a clear improvement in official market pricing.
2.5Mox Naija: Nigerians lament poor circulation of new naira botes
At the parallel market, the naira also appreciated. According to Cowry Asset Management Limited, the naira strengthened by 1.06 per cent to N1,454/$ in the parallel market, “reflecting improved currency sentiment across both the regulated official segment and the informal foreign exchange market.”
President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, said the naira has remained stable across market for several months, ending years of volatility in the market.
Additionally, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Bismarck Rewane, estimated the fair value of the naira at about N1,257 to the US dollar.
