September inflation, blue rail daily trips increased… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — October 16 to October 20.

NIGERIA’S SEPTEMBER INFLATION

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release Nigeria’s consumer price index (CPI) and inflation report for September.

Last month, the CPI, which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, rose to 25.80 percent — up from 24.08 percent in July.

The country’s inflationary trend was driven majorly by increases in food prices.

The NBS will also release reports on the prices of automative gas oil (diesel) and premium motor spirit (petrol) for September 2023.

The bureau will also publish reports on the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) and kerosene for the same month.

LAGOS BLUE RAIL LINE INCREASES DAILY TRIPS TO 54

The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) says the blue rail will resume passenger operations on Monday. 

The transportation agency, in a post on its official X account on Sunday, disclosed an updated timetable for the train services showing that daily trips have been increased to 54.

According to the schedule, the earliest trip from Mile 2 to the Marina route is at 6.30 a.m. while the last trip is at 9.25 p.m., with stops at National Theatre, Iganmu, and Alaba. 

The state government had earlier announced that there would be a temporary shutdown of the blue rail line from October 14.

CBN TO BOOST FX LIQUIDITY, LIFTS BAN ON 43 ITEMS

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will boost liquidity in the foreign exchange (FX) market by intervening “from time to time”.

The apex bank, in a statement issued on Thursday, said as market liquidity improves, the interventions will “gradually decrease”.

The CBN also announced the lifting of the ban on 43 items previously restricted from accessing forex for importation.

Meanwhile, the apex bank admitted that the FX restriction placed on cement, rice, tomatoes, and 40 other products contributed to the hike in dollar rate in the parallel market.

CBN said the restriction, which was intended to reduce demand for forex in the official market, pushed demand for FX to the parallel market.

FG TARGETS 2 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY BY DECEMBER 

The federal government says it aims to increase crude oil production to at least two million barrels per day (bpd) by December.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), spoke on Friday at a meeting with energy correspondents in Abuja.

He said the government is working tirelessly to ramp up crude oil production.

However, in the latest crude oil and condensate production data of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria’s oil production increased to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in September 2023.

‘NEW TAX REFORMS TO BE IMPLEMENTED SOON’

Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says the federal government will focus on domestic resource mobilisation through the introduction of new tax reforms.

Edun spoke on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the  World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings held in Marrakech, Morocco.

Speaking shortly after the G-24 meeting involving Nigeria, Edun said the meeting focused on how the World Bank Group/IMF could be reformed to offer more support to developing economies.

‘NO MORE DEVELOPMENT FINANCE INTERVENTION’

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the financial regulator will pull back from direct development finance interventions.

Cardoso, in a statement on Thursday, said the CBN needs to return to its core functions of monetary policies and advisory roles to support economic growth.

According to the head of the apex bank, under previous leadership, the CBN had included fiscal intervention in its functions.

This, Cardoso said, blurred the lines between monetary and fiscal environments.

NNPC DENIES INCREASE IN PETROL PUMP PRICE

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has no intention to increase the pump price of petrol at its retail outlets.

There have been speculations on social media that the company plans to raise the petrol pump price to over N700 a litre.

The NNPC is currently the sole importer of oil despite the deregulation of the sector as private operators face a gruelling FX crunch.

In a statement on Thursday, NNPC’s retail subsidiary said it values the patronage of its customers, reassuring Nigerians of no increase in the price of the commodity.

The national oil company had adjusted the petrol price in May 2023, following a declaration by President Bola Tinubu that the subsidy regime was over. 

In July, the price of the commodity rose further to N617 per litre in the federal capital territory (FCT) and N568 in Lagos.