Market News

BY  Dike Onwuamaeze

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has projected that the Naira would appreciate to N1,000 per Dollar.

This was disclosed by the President of LCCI, Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, when he addressed news men on the state of the economy in Lagos.

He said: “We see the possibility of the Naira gaining some value before the end of this year. The billions of dollars expected from the sales of marginal oil fields, achieving a higher oil production level, and the possibility of an increase in oil price may all play a role in driving supply to record levels and helping the Naira to appreciate towards the N1000 mark.”

He, however, urged the monetary authorities to reconsider a review of the free-floating exchange rate.

According to him, “the depreciation of the Naira was fundamentally driven by low supply of foreign currencies to the market, even though speculative activities played a huge role in distorting the real value of the Naira.

“Before the end of the first quarter, the Naira firmed up due to some FX policy reforms undertaken by the CBN. The CBN needs to sustain its interventions and improve supply in the FX market, adopt policies that would attract more FX inflow into the economy, and build market confidence in the performance of the Naira even in the long run.”

He further noted that the dynamics in the foreign exchange market that are driven by weak supply, uncertainties, and increasing demand have continued to depreciate the value of the Naira.

He said that beyond infrastructure provision, the country needed sound regulatory and policy environment that would attract more foreign investment into the power sector.

“We advise creating an environment enabling foreign investors to build renewable energy factories in Nigeria to upscale our energy transition and reduce our dependence on the national hydro grid, which has continued to crash at close intervals in recent months,” he said.