Between December 2025 and September 2026, diesel prices in Nigeria recorded one of the largest increases among the African economies reviewed by S&P.\n<\/p>\n
The agency attributed the pressure partly to tightening global diesel supplies, estimating that approximately two million barrels per day of diesel export supply from the Middle East and Russia had been lost since July 2026.\n<\/p>\n
For Nigeria, the implications extend beyond transportation, as manufacturers, telecommunications operators, logistics companies and small businesses rely heavily on diesel to supplement unreliable electricity supply.\n<\/p>\n
Higher energy costs could therefore increase production and distribution expenses, putting additional pressure on businesses and ultimately feeding into consumer prices.\n<\/p>\n
S&P warned that an average 18 percent increase in diesel prices across African markets could translate into higher food and consumer inflation, further weakening household purchasing power.<\/p>\n
However, Mensah said Nigeria\u2019s domestic economic reforms and improved refining capacity had helped shield the economy from some of the external pressures, particularly those arising from the conflict in the Middle East.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite all that, we have seen an improvement in macroeconomic stability, thanks to higher government revenues,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
According to her, the reforms initiated in June 2023 have started improving the country\u2019s economic fundamentals, although inflation remains elevated because of the conditions preceding the reforms.\n<\/p>\n
She explained that fiscal developments also play a significant role in determining domestic financing and credit conditions, as government borrowing influences market liquidity, interest rates, and the availability of funds for private-sector borrowers.\n<\/p>\n
Read also:\u00a0Cement makers expand green logistics to reduce distribution costs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe more a sovereign grows into the market, the more it influences the dynamics in that market, in terms of pricing and the liquidity available in that market,\u201d Mensah said.\n<\/p>\n She added that Nigeria\u2019s oil and gas sector, particularly the expansion of domestic refining capacity, had provided an additional buffer against international energy supply disruptions.\n<\/p>\n The improvement in macroeconomic conditions has also allowed the Central Bank of Nigeria to begin lowering interest rates, although borrowing costs remain high for businesses and households.\n<\/p>\n Mensah acknowledged that inflation and interest rates were still elevated but said the economy should be assessed against the much more difficult conditions experienced in previous years.\n<\/p>\n These improvements, she said, had supported S&P\u2019s decision to improve its assessment of Nigeria and maintain a stable outlook.<\/p>\n In May 2026, S&P Global Ratings rated Nigeria at \u2018B\u2019 for long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit, with a stable outlook.\n<\/p>\n A stable outlook indicates a broadly balanced assessment of the risks facing the country, with neither an immediate deterioration nor a significant improvement being the agency\u2019s central expectation.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere are areas of improvement, but there are also certainly the impacts of the reforms that are enabling Nigeria to be resilient at this stage,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n Beyond its assessment of Nigeria\u2019s macroeconomic outlook, S&P Global Ratings is seeking to strengthen its presence across African credit markets through its proposed acquisition of a majority stake in Agusto & Co., a Pan-African credit rating agency with more than 25 years of experience in the market.\n<\/p>\n Mensah said Agusto would continue operating under its existing name and as a standalone rating agency within S&P Global Ratings\u2019 broader network of national rating agencies.<\/p>\n Read also:\u00a0Nigeria\u2019s commercial capital courts 22 investors to unlock power deals, expand supply<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n The arrangement is expected to preserve Agusto\u2019s established market identity and local expertise while giving it access to S&P Global\u2019s international network, research capabilities and experience in credit risk assessment.\n<\/p>\n Agusto operates primarily in Nigeria, with a presence in other African markets, including Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda.\n<\/p>\n Mensah said the acquisition was part of a broader model through which S&P Global works with national rating agencies in emerging markets, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.\n<\/p>\n She explained that the agencies would retain their local market knowledge while benefiting from knowledge-sharing and collaboration across the wider S&P network.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal and the plan is for them to continue to operate not only under the same name, Agusto, which is really well known to the Nigerian market, but also as a standalone entity,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n According to Mensah, the arrangement would allow national rating agencies to learn from one another, particularly as emerging markets develop new financial instruments and investors demand more sophisticated approaches to assessing credit and investment risks.\n<\/p>\n She said differences in the characteristics of individual markets make local expertise essential to the development of effective credit assessment frameworks.\n<\/p>\n The network would also operate alongside S&P Global National Ratings, through which the international agency produces its own national-scale ratings.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe two models could complement each other, providing additional market intelligence and strengthening the development of credit markets,\u201d Mensah said.<\/p>\n Chinwe Michael is a Nigerian business journalist and media professional with over 4 years of experience covering companies, financial markets, banking, fintech, economic policy, financial inclusion, and corporate affairs. She currently leads the Companies & Markets desk at BusinessDay, where she drives coverage of Nigeria\u2019s corporate and capital markets, translates complex financial data into accessible stories, and mentors younger journalists. Prior to that, she was the head of the financial inclusion\/fintech desk. With a background in banking and finance and extensive experience in media and communications, Michael has developed expertise in financial journalism, economic analysis, investigative reporting and market intelligence. Her work examines how monetary policy, corporate performance, capital flows, technology, and regulatory decisions affect businesses, investors, and households. She was selected from about 3,000 applicants as one of 20 journalists for Cohort 4 of the MTN Media Innovation Programme, gaining exposure to new approaches to journalism, technology, and media innovation. Her international journalism experience and engagement with professionals across Russia, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and others in different sectors have further broadened her understanding of global communication and development.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Source: <\/p>\n Nigeria\u2019s economic outlook remains stable despite renewed inflationary pressures, rising energy costs, and elevated financing risks, as economic reforms and increased domestic refining capacity continue to strengthen the country\u2019s resilience… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16778,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}S&P deepens African presence through Agusto acquisition<\/h3>\n
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