As the naira remains stable versus the dollar in the international currency market, crude oil prices are declining.

Amid speculations that OPEC+ will move forward with a planned increase in oil supply in April, oil prices dropped roughly 2% to a 12-week low this week.

United States West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.39, or 2%, to close at $68.37, while Brent futures dropped $1.19, or 1.6%, to settle at $71.62 a barrel.

Channels reported that WTI and Brent closed at their lowest levels since December 9 and December 6, respectively.

According to reports, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, including Russia, have agreed to move on with their April oil output rise.

Nigerians, however, expect that the decline in crude oil prices will be reflected in fuel prices, to influence more decline in prices.

In addition, they implied that the price war between the NNPC and Dangote refinery may cause the price to drop to between N650 and N800 per litre.

Financial analyst and Chief Economist at SPM Professionals, Paul Alaje, in a Channels Television interview, said that the coexistence of Dangote Refinery and NNPCL in their current form benefits Nigerians.

He said: “We, in fact, want more of the competition to go on because this is the consequence of deregulation. I should be buying fuel between N650, N750, and N800 per litre. But if any of them fizzles out, be ready to buy at over N1000 per litre again."

Naira declines

Meanwhile, in the parallel market, the value of the Naira increased from N1,515 to N1,512 per dollar on Tuesday to N1,512 on Wednesday.

But on the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the value of the Naira dropped to N1,505 per dollar.

According to data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the naira depreciated by N3 on Tuesday, February 5th, as the indicative exchange rate increased to N1,505 per dollar from N1,502 per dollar on Tuesday.

As a result, the difference between the NFEM rate and the parallel market dropped from N13 to N7 per dollar on Tuesday.