Dear Subscriber,

Nine days into the Ramadan fast and both the wholesale commodity index and retail prices have surged especially for commodities such as rice, peppers, oranges etc. Also inducing the rise in prices is the planting season scarcity and the cross elasticity of demand for substitutes of imported products.

The CBN is urging exporters to repatriate their export proceeds back into Nigeria. The apex bank is also considering including sugar and wheat to its forex restriction list that already has about 44 items. This means that food inflation is likely to remain elevated at approximately 23% in April.

In the global commodity markets, oil is trading lower on fears of excess supply stemming from OPEC+’s relaxation of output cuts and higher US inventories.

All of these developments were eloquently discussed by the Head of Research at FDC, Damilola Akinbami, on the commodities segment of the Business Morning Programme on Channels TV.

Enjoy your read!