Nairametrics introduces a new show titled “Follow the Money with Ugodre,” airing every Monday from 8 am to 8:30 am on Classic FM 97.3. The show digs deep into what happened in Nigeria’s economic and financial landscape the week before.
Naira teeter-totters at the official market
On the first episode of Follow the Money with Ugodre on Monday, November 13, Ugo started with the teeter-tottering nature of the Naira over the previous week. For example, on Thursday, the official exchange rate hit its highest-ever value of N996, only to return to N780 the next day, a huge disparity of N216.
He then explained the dangers of an unstable exchange rate as well as huge gaps between official exchange rates and parallel market quotes, citing implications such as roundtripping.
Turnover at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) during the week ending November 10, 2023, was $584 million. Ugo explained that the turnover doesn’t depict how much forex was sold, but how much was bought and sold cumulatively, essentially gauging how much liquidity is in the market.
(2) FollowTheMoney with Ugodre: Episode 1 – The Nigerian economy and financial markets. – YouTube
Highlights of President Tinubu’s visit to Saudi Arabia
Some of the sound bites from President Tinubu’s visit to Saudi Arabia were in focus, including the Saudi government’s pledge to support Nigeria with FX as well as revamp Nigerian refineries.
Ugo highlighted the importance of the government engaging foreign investors, noting that Nigeria over time has attracted more foreign portfolio investments than foreign direct investments due to the less risky nature of FPIs.
On the question of Nigeria learning from the Saudi Arabians concerning the fiscal conservation, Ugo noted that the key thing is Nigeria’s ability to produce crude oil that will enable the country to meet Forex and revenue targets just like Saudi Arabia.
Despite improvements, Nigeria’s oil production stood at 1.5 million barrels per day in October 2023, falling short of the 1.8 million BPD benchmark outlined in the 2023 budget.
Dangote refinery secures license to refine 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily
Dangote said crude oil would be available ‘very soon’ for his refinery. There are also plans by the company to import crude oil for refining. Ugo noted that it may be more beneficial for the country to export than to sell to Dangote hence, the reason for the importation.
NBS is likely to release inflation data in the new week
Ugo ended up with recourse to a recent report from KPMG that Nigeria’s inflation may climb to 30% by December 2023. He noted that September’s inflation rate of 26.72% is Nigeria’s highest in over a decade. He also touched on the impact of a weakening exchange rate on producer inventories and the ongoing subsidy in the electricity sector, citing its implication on the overall inflation rate in the country. To curb inflation, Ugodre outlined the necessity for stabilized FX prices, GDP growth, and increased foreign investment.
You can also listen to FollowTheMoney with Ugodre on Spotify: FollowTheMoney with Ugodre: Episode 1 – The Nigerian economy and financial markets. by FollowTheMoney with Ugodre (spotify.com)
Solicit sponsorship and move to TV to show numbers to viewers. Nairanetrics should move to establish TV station to put the messages across succinctly