Nigeria's Dangote refinery says it will suspend fuel sales in local currency

Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery announced on Wednesday that it was temporarily suspending fuel sales in the local naira currency to avoid a mismatch between sales in naira and purchases of crude in dollars.

The decision by the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery to price its gasoline in dollars could lead to a hike in the gasoline prices and a weakening of the naira as local fuel traders scramble for greenbacks.

The refinery on the outskirts of Lagos has struggled to secure sufficient crude volumes under an arrangement by the Nigerian government to sell it crude in naira.

"To date, our sales of petroleum products in Naira has exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude we have received. As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency," the company said in a statement.

Reuters