Global liquidity still runs through the dollar, and Nigeria cannot ignore this. Higher U.S. yields make it difficult for emerging markets to attract short-term capital. They also strengthen the dollar, which feeds directly into imported inflation and complicates exchange rate management.

For an economy that depends heavily on oil exports priced in dollars, the relationship is more complex. Stronger oil prices help Nigeria’s external reserves, however, if global dollar liquidity gets tougher at the same time, those improvements can be offset by capital outflows or currency instability.

At the same time, global oil markets are pricing in supply risk. Brent crude has climbed to around $72–$73 per barrel, its highest in about seven months, as geopolitical stresses escalate in the Middle East. 

Meanwhile, equity indices have shown intermittent volatility but are still resilient. The S&P 500 hovered close to the 6,900 area in late February. 

Taken together, these developments show how markets are balancing monetary conditions, spending patterns, and energy risk in early 2026.

Liquidity: Tougher Than in the Past, But Not Restrictive

A balance sheet of roughly $6.61 trillion confirms that policy is no longer in emergency mode, but still large by longer‑term historical standards. 

Interest rates are higher than a few years ago, and the Federal Reserve has been gradually reducing the amount of securities it holds. But that reduction has slowed, and the level of reserves in the system has not fallen far enough to scrape out market liquidity entirely.

Investors are still willing to take risks. Credit spreads have not blown out, and volatility measures like VIX have stayed below crisis levels. Even assets that trade with higher risk premia, such as cryptocurrencies, have seen renewed institutional interest recently.

This dynamic points to a market that seems comfortable with current monetary conditions, even if official policy rates are still restrictive. Expectations of future rate cuts are part of the reason, with markets usually pricing in expected easing well before central banks act.

A huge risk is if inflation proves stickier than expected, the monetary easing investors currently price in may be delayed or even reversed. That would raise yields further and tighten financial conditions more than most anticipate.

Technology Investment: Strong Now, But Not Broad‑Based

Corporate investment in technology infrastructure, especially for advanced computing and data processing, is still a major driver of market and sector performance.

A small group of large technology companies are at the centre of this trend. Their capital expenditure plans, particularly in areas tied to machine learning and cloud infrastructure, have supported earnings growth and aggregate market valuation.

The concentration of earnings in a handful of large firms has lifted headline equity indices. This creates a situation where market performance depends heavily on a narrow segment of the economy.

Outside those core technology firms, earnings growth has been more muted. That is of concern because when valuations are concentrated at the top, any disappointment from those leading firms can ripple quickly across markets.

There is also a link between technology investments and energy consumption. Large data centres require significant power. With tech capex increasing, so is demand for reliable energy supply, connecting the narrative directly to trends in energy markets.

Oil Prices: The Risk That Could Shift the Macro Balance

Globally, prices of oil have increased to levels not seen for months. Brent crude climbing into the low $70s per barrel shows supply risk priced into markets due to geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region. 

Recent military action involving the United States and Israel has boosted concerns about supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil flows. Markets responded, pushing prices higher on the expectation of risk rather than actual physical cuts to supply. 

Reports have even suggested that if firm disruptions occur, Brent could rise towards $80 per barrel, although this is far from certain. 

Higher oil prices feed into consumer and producer cost structures. Transport is expensive, fertiliser and agricultural input prices are high and that can keep inflation elevated even when core goods are subdued. Central banks, monitoring inflation closely, will respond to these challenges.

For oil‑exporting nations, stronger prices support foreign exchange revenues and fiscal positions. For oil importers, the opposite is true, energy costs can squeeze budgets and slow growth.

How These Forces Interact

These three forces, liquidity situations, concentrated technology investment, and expensive energy prices, are not independent.

• If prices of oil continue to increase and push inflation expectations higher, bond yields could increase too. Higher yields tighten monetary requirements even without changes in central bank policy.
• If tech investment slows or earnings disappoint, markets that rely on a narrow base of corporate profits could see more weakness.
• If financial situations get tougher unexpectedly, credit spreads could widen, reducing risk appetite.

Market stability today depends on these forces staying in relative balance. A shift in one can ensure movements in the others.

What to Watch This Week

As we begin March, these indicators are essential:

• Official inflation data from major economies
• Treasury auction results and changes in bond yields
• Weekly oil inventory reports and OPEC+ announcements
• Corporate earnings guidance on capex spending
• Credit market stress indicators such as high‑yield spreads

Small changes in these indicators can influence market expectations.

Liquidity is tougher than in the years following the pandemic, but it has not withdrawn. Technology investment is supporting markets, albeit in a concentrated manner. Oil prices are growing as geopolitical risk premiums increase.

None of these forces alone ends a bull market or derails growth projections. But together, they influence the conditions that markets are currently pricing.

The important focus this Monday is not whether markets will rise or fall, but how these three forces, liquidity, AI and Oil, interact going forward.

The public launch marks a key milestone in Bitget’s evolution into a Universal Exchange (UEX). After opening beta access in December, more than 80,000 users joined the waitlist to explore trading beyond crypto, validating strong demand for a single platform that connects digital assets with traditional markets.

Activity during the test phase exceeded expectations, highlighted by XAU/USD recording over $100 million in single-day trading volume, one of the strongest performances seen during the beta period.

With the beta insights now baked into the product, Bitget TradFi is entering full public availability with a broader lineup and refined execution. Users can trade 79 instruments spanning metals, forex, indices, and commodities, all settled in USDT and accessed directly from their existing Bitget accounts. The experience is designed to feel familiar to crypto-native traders while opening the door to macro-driven strategies without the need to switch platforms.

This launch also reinforces Bitget’s UEX (Universal Exchange) vision, where trading is no longer segmented by asset class.

By bringing gold, forex, and commodities into the same ecosystem as crypto, Bitget is positioning itself as a platform built for how modern traders actually think about risk, diversification, and opportunity. Deep liquidity, tight spreads, and flexible leverage options were refined during the beta based on real user feedback, ensuring the product is ready to scale.

“Traders want the flexibility to choose between assets in a unified ecosystem,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. “They want the freedom to move between crypto and traditional markets as conditions change. TradFi going public is about giving them that accessibility in one place, without friction.”

With TradFi now fully live, Bitget continues to expand what a crypto exchange can be. The move signals a broader shift in how exchanges are evolving, not just as venues for speculation, but as comprehensive gateways to global markets under a single, unified trading experience.

Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to Bitget’s Terms of Use.

According to Aboki FX, an online public repository that tracks Nigeria’s daily parallel exchange rates, the market is currently trading at a buy rate of N1,460 and a sell rate of N1,465 for the Naira-to-dollar exchange.

For the Naira-to-Pound rate, the black market recorded a buy rate of N1,905 and a sell rate of N1,925. The Naira-to-Euro exchange stood at N1,665 (buy) while the sell rate was N1,685.

Meanwhile, the GT Bank Daily FX Windows Rate For International Transactions closed at N1,447/$.

Again, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Daily Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) rate closed at N1,444/$ last week Friday, as the rate for the day had not been updated at the time of filing this report.

You can have flawless logic, backtest metrics that look professional-grade, and meticulous risk parameters, but if your orders reach your broker’s server 20 milliseconds late during volatile sessions, you’re already behind. 

Forex execution isn’t a game of minutes anymore; it’s a race measured in microseconds. That’s why institutional desks and increasingly, advanced retail traders, are turning to infrastructure specifically built for sub-5ms routing, like an ultra low latency VPS for forex.  

I first realized how decisive latency was during a post-Brexit volatility wave. Two identical EAs, one hosted from a home fiber connection and the other on a New York VPS 1ms from the broker’s data center produced a 0.8% difference in return during a single trading day. Same strategy, same broker, same parameters. 

The only difference was proximity. The faster server executed during narrow liquidity windows where the slower one couldn’t. That small percent compounded week over week until the edge became undeniable.  

Why Latency Became the New “Spread” in Forex Performance  

Traditionally, retail traders obsessed over spreads and commissions. But in modern electronic trading, latency functions as a hidden spread, it’s simply measured in milliseconds instead of pips. 

The average home-based connection to a broker’s MT4/MT5 server runs anywhere between 70–150 ms. For context, most high-frequency brokers in Equinix NY4 or LD4 environments execute in 1–3 ms. Those 100+ millisecond gaps are enough to turn positive expectancy strategies into breakeven systems.  

When your trade hits the market a fraction of a second late, even fractional pip movements alter entry and exit fills. For scalping bots operating with tight take-profit windows of 0.5 to 1.0 pips, one delayed tick can flip winning positions to losses. 

During news-driven volatility, a server slow by even 10 milliseconds may cause rejected orders or re-quotes. Traders often blame brokers for these execution hiccups, but in many cases, the bottleneck originates in the trader’s own hosting infrastructure.  

Professional-grade setups eliminate that latency tax by colocating MT4, MT5, or FIX API terminals within single-digit milliseconds of the broker’s engine. Think of it as cutting out the internet’s middlemen, your trades no longer zigzag through six routers before reaching the market.  

The Science Behind “Ultra Low Latency”  

Most traders hear the phrase “ultra low latency” without understanding what it implies technically. It’s not just about server speed. An ultra low latency VPS combines three performance pillars.  

First is proximity, physical distance from the broker’s matching engine. Light travels roughly 200 km per millisecond in fiber-optic cable, so even a few hundred extra miles matter. VPS providers strategically place servers inside or adjacent to financial data centers like NY4 (New York), LD4 (London), or TY3 (Tokyo) to minimize signal travel.  

Second is network peering. The fastest VPS setups use direct routing agreements with brokers’ liquidity providers, creating low-hop paths with no intermediary delays. Public internet connections can introduce jitter of 5–20 ms even when average ping looks fine. Direct peering routes reduce that jitter variance to near zero.  

Third, true ultra low latency systems depend on dedicated CPU scheduling. Many VPS hosts oversell their physical resources, meaning your virtual machine competes with dozens of others for CPU time. In trading, those skipped cycles equal missed execution.

High-end providers allocate guaranteed vCPU access, ensuring your terminal isn’t throttled microseconds before a market event.  

Companies such as NewYorkCityServers specialize in this infrastructure, balancing physical proximity with optimized networking paths. For traders connecting to brokers in NY4 or LD5, their VPS instances routinely post sub-2ms execution speeds, numbers retail-grade hosts can’t sustain consistently.  

When Your EA Operates Faster Than Your VPS Can Handle  

I once helped a trader running a high-frequency EUR/USD scalping EA in MetaTrader 5 that triggered as many as 200 trades per day. On paper, the algorithm was brilliant, high win rate, tight stops, heavy volume sensitivity. But under live conditions, execution logs showed persistent “trade context busy” errors. The culprit wasn’t the code; it was the environment.  

His VPS ran on a shared 2-core 2.2GHz node in a general-purpose cloud datacenter outside Chicago. The physical distance to his broker’s NY4 server was over 800 miles. 

The result: command queue bottlenecks, delayed confirmations, and compounded network retries. After migrating to an ultra low latency setup with 3.4GHz dedicated cores less than 3 miles from NY4, the issue disappeared completely.  

The biggest surprise? Execution time on identical trades dropped by an average of 28 milliseconds. That marginal gain produced fewer missed fills, translating to a 0.9 pip improvement per position. 

Over the next month, combined with improved stability, the account’s realized profit grew by 12%. Most of that gain came not from new logic, but from letting the EA function as originally intended.  

Why “Server Location” Is More Than Marketing  

Many VPS sellers exaggerate proximity claims. “New York located” could still mean several miles away or outside the actual Equinix campus clusters where brokers host their environments. Retail traders rarely verify this, but you should. 

Every broker’s trading server name in MT4/MT5 (e.g., `ICMarkets-Live04`, `Pepperstone-Edge03`) maps to an IP address. Run a traceroute from your VPS to that address and you’ll see real routing hops and latency.  

A true ultra low latency VPS clocks ping results at 1–3 ms for New York-based brokers or 2–5 ms for London ones. Anything higher suggests virtual routing around peered networks. Traders often mistake a 10 ms response as “fast enough,” but in high-frequency logic, those extra milliseconds stack like compound interest.  

During sudden liquidity surges, say, the overlap between London close and New York open, those milliseconds can widen spreads or cause partial fills. If your strategy’s edge revolves around consistent fills, you can’t afford to operate from a “close enough” location. Precision is the new proximity.  

Measuring True Latency in Real Trading Environments  

Testing ping times is only a partial measure. What matters more is execution latency, the complete round trip from order click to broker confirmation. MT5’s Journal tab logs execution times, and comparing these across different VPS setups is the most realistic way to measure improvement.  

On average, standard VPS environments post execution latencies between 70–100 ms. Properly located ultra low latency VPS systems measure full-cycle execution in under 10 ms, including broker acknowledgment. To visualize that, your order opens and closes before most retail VPS even registers the first confirmation packet.  

If you code or run FIX APIs, test through millisecond resolution timestamps. Tools like MetaTrader’s MetaQuotes Data Network test function or simple Python APIs that timestamp `TradeTransInfo` logs let you compare infrastructure objectively.  

Once traders see the contrast, orders confirmed almost instantly rather than a beat later—it becomes mechanically impossible to return to slower setups.  

The Hidden Benefit: Consistency Beats Peak Speed  

Most traders focus purely on headline ping metrics, but seasoned analysts care more about consistency—the variance between fastest and slowest executions.

A VPS that averages 2 ms but spikes to 40 ms unpredictably offers less value than one maintaining a stable 3 ms.

Algorithmic strategies depend on time predictability, especially those managing multiple correlated positions or hedging layers across pairs.  

Ultra low latency VPS providers reduce jitter by using dedicated networking lanes and avoiding bandwidth throttling. Inside facilities like NY4, dozens of liquidity providers, LMAX, GAIN Capital, GMI, and others, interconnect via redundant fiber, not public routing. When your VPS shares that floor space, your trades use those same connectors. 

That’s why institutional-grade setups emphasize *jitter control* more than raw speed. Precision in timing means calculable fill behavior, not reactionary randomness.  

What Experienced Algo Traders Won’t Tell You About Latency Scaling  

Even with top-tier hardware, diminishing returns occur. After hitting the low single-digit millisecond range, profit delta from shaving another millisecond rarely moves needlewide unless you’re running true HFT logic. The bigger advantage comes from scalability, deploying multiple EAs, brokers, or accounts efficiently.  

Imagine running a three-layer system: a momentum scalper, a mean-reversion grid, and an arbitrage script. Each gains marginal latency benefits individually, but together they multiply because synchronization between their executions improves. Orders no longer overlap or queue incorrectly. That’s when “ultra low latency” becomes more than speed, it becomes system coordination.  

Traders at scale therefore prioritize infrastructure design as much as code optimization. Ultra low latency VPS setups aren’t just about shaving delay, they’re about maintaining alignment among many time-dependent components in real market conditions.  

Making Speed Sustainable  

Speed isn’t free, it depends on continuous maintenance. Even the fastest VPS can degrade if you overload it with chart windows, leave auto-updates active, or saturate bandwidth via remote sessions. Smart operators disable graphical rendering and use native Windows Server environments instead of GUI-heavy versions.  

Providers like NewYorkCityServers optimize these details for forex workloads, pre-configuring VPS instances with no-desktop overhead and prearranged latency monitoring dashboards.

You can literally track ping and packet quality in real time, validating that your infrastructure performs as billed. For strategies handling meaningful volume, that kind of transparency is priceless.  

The forex ecosystem will never slow down again. Liquidity fragmentation, AI-driven EAs, and tighter spreads keep pushing competition toward millisecond territory. Latency isn’t just a statistic—it’s your execution quality expressed in time.  

Whether you’re running one scalper or a full automated portfolio, infrastructure precision determines how faithfully your algorithm’s theory becomes financial reality.

An ultra low latency VPS for forex isn’t a luxury upgrade, it’s a competitive equalizer, aligning retail traders closer to institutional execution standards.  

Every trading decision ultimately travels at the speed of light. The question is, how much of that light are you wasting?

Inflation has gone beyond biting to gnawing through wallets, bank accounts, and goals. Naira is doing what it does best: tumbling on Mondays and dancing by Friday. And the average Nigerian? Well, we’ve mastered the art of survival with vibes, data bundles, and a suspicious relationship with digital investments.

But in the midst of all these, there’s always a hunt for what will actually yield returns. While we wade through another great year, some of us are wondering what the top and smartest trades as well as investment strategies in 2025 are.

Let’s take a look at the numbers in all honesty, with a keen eye on the dynamic ground beneath our feet.

The 2025 Economic Forecast

We’re working with shaky pillars. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Nigeria’s GDP growth at 3.2%, a figure that doesn’t keep up with population growth. Inflation sits above 24% — yes, twenty-four — which means that by the time your salary reflects in your account, it’s already lost value in the market.

The exchange rate continues its romantic tango with fluctuations — officially hovering around ₦1,500 to the dollar, but on the black market? Let’s just say some prayers are best whispered.

Meanwhile, the government says subsidies are gone, yet petrol prices are suspiciously tame. CBN’s monetary tightening continues, leaving businesses struggling to access credit, and the average consumer unsure whether to save, spend, or move to Rwanda.

So, with all of these, where are the cracks of opportunity?

Sector Breakdown: What’s Hot, What’s Heating Up

1. Agriculture & Agro-Processing

Forget tech for a minute. With food inflation galloping at over 24%, agriculture is no longer a poor man’s trade — it’s survival’s last stronghold. But it’s no longer about hoe-and-cutlass farming.

The money is in value chains — cassava into starch, maize into ethanol, palm oil into packaged exports. Add a decent warehouse and solar drying facility? You’re in business.

Q4 2024 data: Agriculture contributed 25.59% to GDP. It’s growing — not because we planned it well, but because hunger forced our hands.

Caveat: Security challenges in rural areas make physical farm investment risky. But agritech platforms are springing up, providing lower-risk entry.

2. Tech & Digital Services

The layoffs made headlines, but tech isn’t dying, but morphing. Fintechs are consolidating, and those that survive are now solving problems. Going from offline payment terminals in rural areas to AI-lite customer support tools, this space is bolstering productivity.

And let’s not ignore the digital boom outside Lagos. Kano, Port Harcourt, even Ilorin are birthing developer communities and small hubs.

ICT’s GDP share? A solid 17.68%, and climbing.

Digital infrastructure, healthtech integrations, logistics apps, and SME support tools. If you can build, support, or scale a solution — even on WhatsApp — you’re in.

3. Real Estate: Not Dead, Just Disguised

With rent in major cities hitting absurd highs, short-let spaces and co-living apartments are hot. But the sweet spot isn’t in the Lekki bubble anymore. It’s on the outskirts: Mowe, Ibafo, Apo, Lokogoma — places that offer land at human prices and still touch the urban grid.

But then, the new trend isn’t ‘build and sell’ — it’s ‘build and service’. More investors are offering shared workspaces, student pods, and semi-permanent accommodation.

Just don’t expect overnight ROI — construction costs are high, and cement doesn’t accept prayers as payment.

4. Forex, Crypto & Commodities: Risky, but Addictive

For many, the FX market isn’t an investment but a personality trait. Everyone’s cousin now trades dollars on Telegram. But some are making real profits, particularly in commodities.

Gold, lithium, and soybeans are becoming alternative asset classes — especially with global instability keeping dollar assets unpredictable.

Crypto is back on the radar, with coins like ETH and SOL bouncing again. But thanks to regulations, trading platforms now walk a thin line between innovation and shutdown.

Zooming in:

• The U.S. dollar is still topping the chart, strengthened by monetary policy and economic resilience. Carry trades have surged, as investors borrow in low-yielding currencies — like the Japanese yen — to invest in high-yielding assets such as the Mexican peso or South African rand.
• With inflation dynamics changing and central banks recalibrating their viewpoint, currency pairs like USD/JPY are moving sharply. The Bank of Japan’s cautious tightening has left room for strategic positioning.
• Strategy tip: Watch interest rate differentials and macro indicators to stay ahead of movements.

On the crypto aspect, Bitcoin’s post-halving surge is gathering institutional momentum, helped by the growing impact of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Projects focusing on sustainable mining practices and the emergence of real-world utility tokens are impacting investor behaviour.

• Strategy tip: Track layer-2 innovations like Polygon, and monitor new altcoins tied to physical infrastructure or ESG-linked goals.

5. The Carbon Trade & Green Economy

Nigeria says it wants $2.5 billion from carbon credits by 2030. Most people don’t even know what that means yet — and that’s exactly where the opportunity lies.

With global pressure increasing on climate commitments, carbon farming, green certifications, and renewable energy leasing are rising areas. Early investors could be sitting on tomorrow’s goldmine.

Strategy? Partner with agritech startups offering data-backed green reporting or explore carbon trading cooperatives.

This change is focused on the surge of sustainable finance. Green bonds, ESG-rated stocks, and carbon-neutral corporate policies are changing investor calculations.

• Companies that align with environmental benchmarks are outperforming long term.
• Strategy tip: Look into ESG-screened ETFs or solar energy-linked stocks. The green wave is no longer hype — it’s real capital movement.

The Risk Map: What Could Go Wrong? (Plenty)

We need to understand that Nigeria isn’t investor-friendly unless you’re friends with someone in Abuja. You could wake up to a new policy, a frozen app, or a “compliance” fine nobody saw coming.

• Crypto? Still under tight watch.
• Tech? FIRS and NCC are hunting down platforms they don’t understand.
• Real estate? The land registry remains a maze. Beware of omo-onile and ghost titles.
• Agri? Bandits don’t accept letters of intent.

A rational investor must mix ambition with caution. Risk isn’t the problem — ignorance is.

My Strategy? Simple but Uncompromising

• Diversify — I’m not betting the farm on one trade. Even Jesus fed the people with five loaves, not one.
• Stay liquid — In this country, you may need to run. Figuratively, or literally.
• Learn daily — Markets move, governments lie, and apps crash. Keep updating your lens.
• Invest in people — Skilled collaborators, loyal staff, and trustworthy partners remain priceless.

Conclusively, You’re the Asset. Invest Accordingly.

The Nigerian economy is what it is — unstable, unreliable, but not without opportunity. If you’re looking for perfect conditions, you’re better off daydreaming. But if you want to build, grow, or pivot? Now is the time to act — carefully, but decisively.

2025 won’t hand you anything. You either take calculated risks — or watch others take them while you stay in “research mode.”

So, what’s your next move?

A statement signed by the Bank’s Director in charge of Financial Markets, Dr. Omolara Duke, disclosed that of the total sale, $67,500m was sold to 27 dealers, while the sum of US$2.5m was bought from one authorized dealer on July 10, 2024.

The range of the bid for the July 10, 2024 sales was ₦1,480.0/US$- ₦1,500.0/US$, while the value date for the payments, going by the settlement cycle of two days, is July 12, 2024.

Similarly, on July 11, 2024, the sum of $55,171m was sold to 19 authorised dealers at ₦1,540.0/US$, and no FX was purchased. The value date for the payments of the spot sale is July 15, 2024.

The apex bank urged all authorised dealers, to ensure that foreign exchange purchases from the CBN, are used exclusively for trade-backed transactions, which should be reported within 72 hours.

While reiterating that the CBN supplies foreign exchange to the Foreign Exchange market to improve liquidity through FX spot sales to authorised Dealers using two-way quotes, it assured that the bank will continue to ensure stability in the FX market.

According to CBN’s data on external reserves, as of May 30, 2023, the reserves were $35.09bn, about 14 days before the introduction of the foreign exchange (FX) unification policy in June 2023.

However, when the CBN announced the FX unification policy, the external reserves dropped to $34.66bn.

From July to December 2023, the reserves fluctuated within the $33bn range.

This year, the reserves plunged to a low of $32.11bn on April 19, 2024, according to the data.

While addressing the reason behind the drop, the central bank Governor, blamed the decreasing reserves primarily due to debt repayments and other standard financial obligations, rather than efforts to defend the naira.

A study of CBN’s data shows a surge in the exchange rate in the last few weeks ending the month of June, above $34bn for the first time since April. The reserves have continued to grow in July, reaching the highest reserve in the last year.

Since the lowest level of $32.11bn under Tinubu in April, the external reserves have surged by $2.94bn in less than three months, according to the CBN data.

The CBN had said it plans to double the Diasporas’ remittance inflow this year through a steady flow of foreign exchange into the country.

Naira depreciated against the United States dollar at both the authorised and unauthorised forex markets on Tuesday.

The currency rate on Tuesday implies a N42.29 or 3.00 per cent depreciation from N1,478.11 recorded on Monday .

Forex turnover traded within the business period plummeted by 40.84 per cent ($128.76 million) from $217.64 million recorded in the previous segment on Monday.

Meanwhile, the naira experienced an intraday high of N1,350.00 and a low N1,568.00 to a dollar before it finally closed at N1,520.40$1 at the authorised session of the FX market.

Similarly, the local currency fell at the parallel market on Tuesday, after it traded at N1,500 mark and above, as against the N1,400/$1 and above recorded on Monday.

According to the unofficial market data posted, the minimum rate the dollar traded at the parallel market on Tuesday was N1,503/$1, as against N1,488/$1 recorded on Monday.

The Naira was able to extend its appreciation from mid-March till mid-April, before the recent decline. The naira however closed flat against the dollar in April appreciation only by about 0.04 percent in the official market, according to a report.

A report by Comercio Partners noted that the transition from a managed fixed to a floating exchange rate regime resulted in a depreciation of the naira, with significant volatility leading to a low of N2000/1$.

This continuous depreciation may have prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take action to support the exchange rate by increasing the monetary policy rate (MPR).

In February 2023, the CBN, under the administration of Cardoso, implemented the first-rate hike, raising the MPR by 400 basis points to 22.75 per cent.

This was followed by an additional increase in March, raising the MPR by 200 basis points to 24.75 per cent.

These hikes in interest rates coincided with a strengthening of the naira, which appreciated to as high as N1,150/$1, the report stated.

According to the circular referenced TEM/FEM/PUB/001/013 signed by Dr. Hassan Mahmud, the CBN’S Director of Trade and Exchange Department and uploaded on its website on Tuesday 23, April, 2024.

The apex bank said it is set to sell $10,000 to BDCs at N1,021 per dollar and directed the operators to sell at a spread not more than 1.5 per cent above the CBN rate.

Earlier, the apex bank sold $10,000 to BDCs at a rate of N1101/$ and directed the BDCs to sell to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.

The current rate is 7.27 per cent less than the previous price. This current release is hoped to further strengthen the local currency.

The media was washed on Monday,  when the Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar reaching an exchange rate of N1,234 at the official foreign exchange market.

This represents a decline of N65 or approximately 5.26 per cent from the previous rate of N1,169.99/$1 recorded on Friday.

The fluctuation in exchange rates can have significant implications for trade and economic stability.

The statement read,

“We write to inform you of the sale of $10,000 by the CBN to BDCs at the rate of 1,021/$. The BDCs are in turn to sell to eligible end users at a spread not more than 1.5 per cent of the purchase price.”

This recent move follows the CBN’s resolve to continue to defend the naira as stated by the bank earlier.

The CBN directed all eligible BDCs to commence payment of naira deposit into the designated CBN accounts from April 22, 2024.

It also asked the operators to submit proof of payment and other documents at the appropriate CBN branches for disbursement.

As the CBN continues to defend the naira, the latest data on its website showed that Nigeria’s foreign exchange experienced a sharp decline.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have experienced a one-month dip streak.

According to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the external reserves reached a new low of $32.1bn on April 18, 2024, over 31 days, the reserves decreased by $2.35bn, falling from $34.45bn on March 18, 2024.

However, during the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings, the CBN governor Olayemi Cardoso clarified that the bank would avoid intervening in the exchange unless unusual circumstances arose.

He emphasised that the recent slight shift in reserves was unrelated to defending the naira.

The governor stated,

“I want to make this as clear as possible, it is not in our intention to defend the naira and as much I have read in the recent few days, some opinions concerning what is happening with our reserves and if the central bank is defending the naira.”

Just five days ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), announced that it has successfully cleared all valid foreign exchange backlogs, effectively eliminating a legacy burden.

This accomplishment fulfills a commitment made by Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, who vowed to address an inherited backlog of $7bn in claims.

The announcement was made by the bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Sidi Ali, in a statement made available to journalists at the CBN monthly report.

However, in a twist of event, the duo of the Foreign Airline Operator, and the Organized Private Sector of Nigeria challenged the federal government to provide evidence of payment for the said foreign exchange clearance.

The Foreign operators in Nigeria have challenged the announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria that it has cleared all valid foreign exchange backlogs.

According to Kingsley Nwokeoma, the president of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), the operators challenged the federal government to provide evidence of payment.

In his words; “If they’ve paid, they should let us know how much has been paid. Where is the evidence of payment? They should show us evidence of payments and we will thank them because payment is what we want. The backlog of trapped funds made foreign airlines stop releasing low inventory tickets,” Nwokeoma said in a chat with one of the Nigeria Newspaper.

Nwokeoma added that although foreign airlines have been told to get their funds from the banks using the rate of the I & E window, they refused because the current I & E window rate differed from what they used in selling tickets.

Meanwhile, some businesses under the aegis of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria are also considering taking legal action against some commercial banks for not honoring forex requests that have lingered over an extended period.

The OPSN also called for a comprehensive audit of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s forex backlog payments. This follows a recent claim by the apex bank that all valid forex backlogs have been cleared.

Accordingly, members of the OPS insisted that the claim by the apex bank that it had settled all forex backlogs was not entirely true. Some of the member associations, speaking in separate interviews, faulted the process through which the CBN conducted the settlement of the backlogs. They argued that the process was not transparent, nor was it carried out in the interest of full disclosure.

The threat of litigation comes despite a recent stakeholder meeting comprising NACCIMA, MAN, the affected banks, and customers which was convened by the Minister of Industry Trade and Investment at the Bank of Industry in Lagos on March 21, 202

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria derived its mandate from the 1958 Act of Parliament, as amended in 1991, 1993,1997,1998,1999 and 2007.

Its mandate also includes but is not limited to ensuring monetary and price stability, issuing legal tender currency in Nigeria, and maintaining external reserves to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency.

Others are; promoting a sound financial system in Nigeria; acting as a Banker and providing economic and financial advice to the Federal Government among others.

The apex bank in recent times has made some bold moves that tumbled across both the official and unofficial markets amidst an increased forex demand and a significant spike in the prices of goods and services across the country.

A close and keen observation revealed that the local frequency traded at N1500, and N1,665.50/$1 respectively.

Similarly, amidst speculations and uncertainties about supply constraints in the forex markets, the naira extended its depreciation run at the parallel creating apprehension across the different sectors of the economy. At the segment, the currency traded at a record low of N1,700 and above the mark amid increased demand and market uncertainties.

However, this disturbing trend prompted the Nigerian government to undertake some major measures and reforms in an effort to safeguard the country’s foreign exchange market and combat speculative activities.

The multidimensional steps and subsequent moves of the Central Bank began to show appreciable results, just last week Thursday, the naira maintained a steady appreciation against the United States dollar on Thursday, gaining N18 to close at 1,382/$ at the official market.

This was as the presidency warned currency speculators to desist from unpatriotic acts against the national currency, saying racketeers would have their fingers burnt.

The naira gain came a day after the local currency recorded major gains at both the official and parallel foreign exchange markets. It closed at the black market at N1,400/dollar.

The summary of the FX trading auction revealed that the naira appreciated by 1.3 percent following increased dollar supply at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.

However, when our correspondent reached out to Sidi-Ali Hakama, the acting director, corporate communications,   of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for clarification, she did not pick her calls.

Cardoso said this on Thursday during an investor call facilitated by the Nigerian Exchange Group, during which he said that the remainder of the banks’ FX backlogs would be cleared in the next few days.

The CBN governor said, “Basically, what we have done with those is that we have paid as much as we can to the point where we have cleared the backlog of all the banks save five. All the banks’ genuine and verifiable backlogs have been cleared, save five.

“We are confident that we will shortly be in a position where the whole issue of forwards would be behind us. I would say in the next few days we should be in a position where the balance of the five would have been put behind us.

“I have tried as much as possible to be consistent on this matter. I don’t make promises I don’t fulfil. The last time I spoke on this matter, I was confident that within one month, we would be more or less out of it and I’m saying again that right now, I think in the course of the next few days maybe a week and a half, this should be put behind us.”

The apex bank governor also revealed that Nigeria had attracted $2bn in foreign portfolio inflows this year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria recorded a total of $3bn in foreign portfolio inflows in 2023.

In an interview in early February, Cardoso had revealed that about $2.4bn of the $7bn foreign exchange backlog he met when he got into office were from non-existing entities, and requests without import documents among other infractions.

“We discovered that of the roughly $7bn, about $2.4bn had issues. We believed that they had no business being there. The infractions ranged from so many things. For example, not having valid import documents and in some cases entities that did not exist and in some cases, account parties who had asked for foreign exchange and got more than they asked for and some that didn’t even ask for any and got. There were a whole load of infractions there,” he said.