The trade wars between the United States of America (US) and China which led to higher crude oil (Brent) prices is good for the naira and the Nigerian economy, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, has said.
Alhaji Gwadabe, in a statement yesterday, said since the beginning of April this year, oil prices have remained above $70/barrel as the trade wars raged.
Daily Trust reports that US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have tightened the supply of crude oil to the market and put upward pressure on oil prices.
Washington had last week raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 per cent from previous rate of 10 per cent, pushing prices of affected consumer goods higher, according to reports.
“The rising oil prices as a result of tension in the Persian Gulf and the increasing trade wars between two world economic giants, China and America will help to take the naira to another next level of stability.
“I advise the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Management to take advantage of the two crises- trade tensions and rise in crude oil prices by introducing what will support growth and development opportunities,” Alhaji Gwadabe said.
The ABCON boss expects the CBN management to deepen currency SWAP pact with China and diversify commodity exports to the United States in order to diversify foreign exchange earnings for the country.
He said ABCON under his leadership would continue to support the CBN progressive policies, including the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Forex Window which had attracted $48 billion worth of transactions to the economy, and supported rise external reserves to $45 billion in April, 2019 from $23 billion in October 2016.
