Nigeria’s foreign reserves rise to $39bn

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, said yesterday that the country’s foreign reserves rose by 12.74 per cent to $39.12 billion as at October 11.

He also said though inflation had shown “gradual moderation,” indicating that the monetary policy measures were “becoming effective,” it remained a concern.

Cardoso, who disclosed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives committee on banking regulation, yesterday, in Abuja, said the country’s reserves stood at $34.70 billion at the end of June.

He said the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have “grown significantly” with remittance flows currently representing 9.4 percent of total external reserves.

“The reserves rose by 12.74 per cent to $39.12 billion as of October 11, 2024, from $34.70 billion at the end of June 2024,” he said.

The CBN governor said the foreign reserves were driven largely by foreign capital inflows, receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party.

He said: “In Q2 2024, we maintained a current account surplus and saw remarkable improvements in our trade balance. The current external reserves position can finance over 12 months of import of goods and services or 15 months of goods only.

“This is substantially higher than the prescribed international benchmark of 30 months, reflecting a robust buffer against external shocks.

“Regarding the foreign exchange market, the bank implemented various reforms including a unification strategy, which streamlined various exchange rate windows into a single model, adopting the willing buyer, willing Seller’ approach to enhance FX liquidity and financial market stability.

“This move was aimed at fostering transparency, reducing market distortions, and enhancing the efficiency of foreign exchange allocations.

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“This consolidation involved the implementation of new operational guidelines which included removing the international money transfer operator, IMTOs, quote cap.

“Additionally, the bank resumed the sales of FX at the NAFEM and Bureau De Change, BDC, segments, bolstered by an improved supply from foreign portfolio investors, FPIs.

“In the foreign exchange market, we have achieved increased transparency and improved overall supply. By allowing the foreign exchange rate to be determined by market demand and supply, the CBN has reduced arbitrage and speculative activities and eliminated the front-loading of FX demand.

“These policy measures have effectively narrowed the exchange rate disparities between the NAFEM and BDC segments which have largely led to the convergence of FX rates.

“Improved transparency in the market has restored market confidence leading to increased capital inflows which enabled the CBN to clear existing FX backlogs.

“The settlement of all legitimate backlogs of outstanding FX obligations by the bank has significantly improved Nigeria’s credibility and ratings across the global financial market, helping to boost investor confidence, and enhanced liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

Inflation remains a concern

The latest data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, rose to 32.7 percent in September.
The increase was the first in three months after the country’s inflation rate declined twice in July and August.

Cardoso said inflation has shown “gradual moderation,” indicating that the monetary policy measures were “becoming effective”.

He said: “We anticipate steady moderation of inflationary pressures in the last quarter of 2024, supported by our monetary policy measures and the federal government’s recent initiatives, such as tax incentives on businesses in the economy.’

“To combat inflation, we have fully reverted to an orthodox monetary policy approach and implemented a comprehensive set of monetary policy measures.

“These include raising the policy rate by 850 basis points to 27.25%, increasing cash reserve ratios and normalising open market operations as our primary liquidity management tool.

“In addition, we have adopted an inflation-targeting (IT) monetary policy framework as part of the bank’s enterprise strategy (2024-2028).”

“The IT framework, widely adopted across various global economies, is renowned for its effectiveness in combating persistent inflation.”

The CBN govenor said these measures were aimed at stabilising prices, optimising liquidity management, and engendering an effective monetary policy framework.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves rise to $39bn

NNPC sells petrol to IPMAN at N995/litre

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has agreed to supply Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) for N995 per litre.

This came when the Department of State Services stepped in to resolve the dispute between the two parties.

The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, informed our correspondent that the DSS intervention resolved many of the issues that merchants had.

Fashola also acknowledged that, as a result of their participation, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority agreed to pay the association’s unpaid N10 billion while resolving concerns with direct petrol purchases from the Dangote refinery.

“We really appreciate their intervention. They are doing their job. Anywhere they have seen that there may be a crisis, it is their duty to intervene. And their intervention brokered peace and understanding between the parties, and everybody agreed to work together,” Fashola stated.

Speaking on how much the NNPC will sell PMS to IPMAN, he replied, “For now, tentatively, I think they are offering us N995 per litre.”

With the N995 ex-depot pricing, Fashola promised that IPMAN members would no longer sell at costs much greater than those of large marketers, but said that distance is another reason for overpriced PMS.

“Our members sell at N1,200 or so, and this depends on the location. I think with the N995, there will be a little reduction. Don’t forget that if you transport a product from Lagos to a far distance, you will pay for transportation and other charges.

“We want to work on that because we want to have common ground. When we sit down and look at the price analysis offered to us and factor in all our expenses, we want to have a uniform price as much as possible.

“So, I will not be able to tell you the exact price now, but we are working on it, especially in the Lagos axis and other zones. We will look at the transportation cost and all that. At the end of the day, we will fix the price for ourselves,” he stated.

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The IPMAN head highlighted that IPMAN is interested in competitive prices, citing price disparities as a detriment to independent marketers.

“The price disparity has been a disadvantage between us and the NNPC Retail and major marketers. So, we are trying to look at how to close that gap so that we come back fully into the business. The lack of direct supply has been our problem, and now that we are solving that problem, I don’t think that disparity will be there again,” he stressed.

Fashola elucidated that the price differential is the reason for the queues in some filling stations in the cities.

“The queues you see are because of that difference in prices; that’s why people are saying there are queues. There are no queues; it is the price disparity that is causing the queues. So, if there is not much difference, we have filling stations everywhere; just drive in, buy fuel, and go. But that so much difference in the price is creating that scenario of queues,” he narrated.

Speaking on the directive that marketers can now buy petrol directly from local refineries, Fashola said the association would meet with Dangote this week.

“For now, we intend to meet with Dangote this week to see how we work out the modalities and all that. The Federal Government has given a directive, and we want to take full advantage of that,” he posited.

The IPMAN vice president emphasised that the association is not ignoring the NNPC either, as it would patronise the best price.

“At the same time too, we are not ignoring NNPC. So, whichever way, we are ready to do business with NNPC. It depends on the price; we go for the best.

IPMAN disclosed on Thursday that the cost of fuel from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to NNPC was approximately N898/litre, but that NNPC was selling the same product to independent marketers in Lagos for N1,010/litre.

The association, which owns more than 70% of filling stations in the country, protested and threatened to shut down operations, as well as a return from the NNPC for previous petrol supply payments made by its members.

Abubakar Maigandi, the IPMAN national president, said in a live television interview on Thursday that the price was greater than what the NNPC paid for the Dangote refinery product.

He also stated that the national oil company had kept independent marketers’ funds for almost three months.

According to him, the NNPC acquired the fuel from the refinery for N898/litre but is demanding marketers to pay N1,010/litre in Lagos, N1,045 in Calabar, N1,050 in Port Harcourt, and N1,040 in Warri.

“Our major challenge now is that independent marketers have an outstanding debt from the NNPC, and the company collected products through Dangote at a lower rate, which is not up to N900, but they are telling us now to buy this product from them at the price of N1,010/litre in Lagos; N1,045 in Calabar; N1,050 in Port-Harcourt; and N1,040 in Warri,” Maigandi stated.

NNPC sells petrol to IPMAN at N995/litre

Just in: Fuel, food prices push up inflation to 32.70% 

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate has risen to 32.70%, propelled by increases in transportation cost and food prices.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this on Tuesday in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which reflected the inflation in September 2024.

This shows a 0.55% increase over 32.15% recorded in August 2024.

This is coming on the heels of increases in petrol prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in early September.

The latest rate is 5.98 percentage points higher than the 26.72% recorded in September 2023, indicating a significant increase in inflation over the past year.

The headline inflation rate in September 2024 was 2.52%, 0.30% higher than the 2.22% recorded in August 2024.