The naira on Thursday fell sharply against the dollar in the official foreign exchange (FX), a day after Donald Trump, president of the United States of America, increased the global trade tariff by 10 per cent.
After trading on Thursday, the naira lost ₦20.75 or 1.3 percent of its value as the dollar was quoted at ₦1,552.53 compared to ₦1,531.25 quoted on Wednesday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The naira also depreciated against the dollar, losing ₦5 to close at ₦1,560 as against ₦1,555 closed on Wednesday, BusinessDay reports.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined by 0.3 per cent to $38.17 billion as of April 2, 2025, from $38.30 billion recorded on March 28, 2025, data from the CBN indicated.
Oil fell after U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out stiff tariffs on major trading partners, including China and the European Union, that spared energy but ratcheted up a trade war that threatens global demand, Bloomberg reports.
Brent crude declined as much as 3.2 per cent to $72.52 a barrel, tracking a slump in wider markets. West Texas Intermediate was below $70. The latest salvo of levies represents Trump’s biggest assault yet on a global economic system he has long bemoaned as unfair, and comes after earlier rounds of tariffs against countries including Canada, Mexico and China.