How this site’s figures are produced

Every naira gold price on this site is a derived figure. Nigeria has no domestic gold fixing, so the price is the world gold price in US dollars per troy ounce multiplied by a naira rate. This page describes that process, its limits, and what a reader should not conclude from it.

Why the price is derived and what that means for a buyer

Nigeria has no exchange or association that publishes a daily naira gold rate. The figure shown here is calculated from two inputs: the world gold price in dollars and a naira exchange rate. The result is labelled derived, not a fixing. A buyer should treat it as a reference point, not a price that any dealer is obliged to honour.

Because the price is derived, it cannot capture the spread a dealer adds, the making charge on a piece of jewellery, or the discount a seller accepts. Those costs are set in the market between buyer and seller. The derived price tells you where the metal sits before those costs are added, and which way it has moved.

The world gold price is read from one source and is the same for everyone. The naira rate that multiplies it is not. The Central Bank of Nigeria publishes an official rate, and a separate street rate is posted by dealers in Lagos. When the two rates differ, the same gram of gold produces two naira prices. The gap between them is a currency effect, not a difference in the metal.

The world gold price is read from a single source and is not altered by this site. The official naira rate is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s volume-weighted NFEM rate. The street naira rate is the Lagos sell average posted on NgnRates.com. They are three separate sources, so a failure in one does not contaminate the others.

A reading is refused if the world gold price is outside a plausible band, if the official naira rate differs from an independent exchange-rate source by more than two and a half per cent, or if the street rate is stale, contradictory or leaves a band of minus three to plus fifteen per cent against the official rate. When a reading is refused, the previous one stays on the page.

This site does not print a “Nigerian fixing”, because none exists. It does not print dealer quotes, because those are individual offers, not a market price. It does not print forecasts, because no one can reliably predict the world gold price or the naira. What it prints is a transparent calculation from three named sources, with the limitations stated.

Why the two dollars give two prices

The world gold price is set in US dollars on international markets. To express that price in naira, a conversion rate must be chosen. Nigeria has two commonly used rates: the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate and the street rate at which dollars change hands in Lagos. The choice of rate changes the naira figure for the same gram of gold.

The official rate is used for formal transactions, such as an importer settling through a bank. The street rate is used in cash transactions, such as a buyer paying a dealer in Lagos. The two rates rarely match. When they differ, the naira price of gold differs by the same percentage. The gap between the two prices is a measure of the currency market’s split, not a difference in the metal.

The official naira rate comes from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s NFEM platform, a volume-weighted average of transactions reported by banks. It is published on the CBN’s website and is used for many official settlements. The street rate is the Lagos sell average posted on NgnRates.com, which aggregates dealer quotes submitted by users. It is a reported rate, not a survey, and may be based on one dealer’s quote per side.

A stale rate is caught by checking the timestamp on the source. If the street rate has not been updated within a reasonable window, the reading is refused and the previous day’s figure remains. The same applies if the official rate has not been published. This prevents a stale rate from producing a misleading naira price.

This site refuses to print a “Nigerian fixing” because no body in Nigeria sets one. It refuses to print dealer prices because those are individual offers that vary by shop and city. It refuses to print forecasts because the world gold price and the naira are both volatile and unpredictable. What it prints is a derived price from named sources, with the method and limitations stated.

Where each input comes from and how a stale one is caught

The world gold price is read from one source and is not altered by this site. The official naira rate is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s volume-weighted NFEM rate. The street naira rate is the Lagos sell average posted on NgnRates.com. They are three separate sources, so a failure in one does not contaminate the others.

The street rate is an average of dealer quotes users post, often one per side, so the street column is a reported rate, not a survey. A single dealer’s quote can move the average, and the average may not reflect the rate available in other cities. The official rate is more stable but lags the street rate when the naira is under pressure. A reader should treat both as inputs to a calculation, not as the rate they will personally receive.

What this site refuses to print: a 'Nigerian fixing', dealer prices, forecasts

The derivation is simple: the world gold price in dollars per troy ounce is multiplied by a naira rate to get a naira price per ounce, and then divided by the number of grams in a troy ounce to get a gram price. The 22 and 18 karat rows are the 24 karat gram multiplied by the karat over twenty-four. They carry no independent market information; they are arithmetic.

The history is this site’s own: one row per day from the readings it has taken, so the table is short at first. Each day’s figure is stored with the date and the two inputs used. If a reading is refused, the previous day’s row remains, and the table shows the last accepted reading. No forecast is made, and no dealer quote is invented.