BRICS: Demand for US dollars for oil payments is growing, local currency is depreciating
The attempts by BRICS to convince other countries to abandon the US dollar and use local currencies for oil payments are failing. Nigeria followed suit and announced in October that the country's oil refineries would only accept the Nigerian naira to boost its national currency. The refineries accepted the government order and began accepting local currencies for oil transactions and cross-border payments.
Problems began immediately with the depreciation of the Nigerian naira against the US dollar, resulting in losses for all oil refineries. Nigerian oil companies began to show their discontent with government policies, and unions and lobbying groups pressured officials to revoke the mandate so they could accept the US dollar and maintain their companies' revenues and balances in profits. Nigeria is now paying a high price for abandoning the US dollar and following the BRICS agenda for oil payments.