The Business NG - March 14, 2025

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Today's edition highlights the ongoing struggles of the Nigerian naira, which has shown minimal improvement in the foreign exchange market despite the global weakening of the U.S. dollar. On Tuesday, the naira traded at N1,565 per dollar in the unofficial market, slightly better than Monday’s N1,570 per dollar. However, the official rate depreciated to N1,537 per dollar from the previous day’s N1,528, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Despite various foreign exchange reforms aimed at enhancing transparency and attracting foreign investments, the naira remains under pressure due to low foreign exchange inflows and declining crude oil production. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reported a drop in crude oil production from 1.54 million barrels per day (bpd) in January to 1.47 million bpd in February, significantly below the OPEC quota of 1.5 million bpd. This shortfall translates to a daily loss of approximately 70,000 barrels, or about 2.1 million liters of crude oil for the month.

The naira’s vulnerability is tied to Nigeria’s heavy dependence on crude oil exports for foreign exchange earnings. Persistent challenges such as underinvestment, vandalism, and oil theft continue to undermine the country’s ability to meet production targets, further weakening the naira’s value.