The recent pressure on the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) segment of the FX market eased on Thursday after six consecutive days of losses.
At the spot market yesterday, the local currency improved its value against the US Dollar by 0.08 per cent or N1.16 to sell for N1,534.88/$1, in contrast to the N1,536.04/$1 it was sold on Wednesday.
Also, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading session by N2.66 to close at N2,079.18/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,081.84/£1 but lost N4.86 against the Euro to finish at N1,807.06/€1 compared with midweek’s value of N1,802.20/€1.
In the black market window, the Naira gained N1 against the greenback on Thursday to quote at N1,536/$1 versus the N1,537/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Renewed optimism in the forex market contributed to the positive performance put up by the Nigerian currency yesterday, with analysts hinging this on improved foreign exchange inflows from sustained government reforms, higher global oil prices, and a weaker US Dollar.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also claims confidence in the Naira is growing among Nigerians, reflecting renewed optimism over ongoing reforms and improvements in macroeconomic stability.
A new projection by Comercio Partners says the Naira could appreciate to N1,400 per Dollar in the coming months, adding that the base-case scenario could see the rate at N1,500/$1 to N1,600/$1 band, consistent with its current range on the back of steady FX inflows, oil earnings, and CBN intervention efforts.
A look at the digital currency market revealed continued correction among some of the top benchmarked assets led by Dogecoin (DOGE), which slumped by 3.6 per cent to sell at $0.2274.
Further, Solana (SOL) lost 3.5 per cent to close at $178.99, Bitcoin (BTC) gave up 2.0 per cent to end at $115,580.12, Litecoin (LTC) shed 0.6 per cent to finish at $110.20, Ripple (XRP) plunged by 0.4 per cent to $3.08, and Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to $762.11.
But, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 0.9 per cent to $3,629.15, and Cardano (ADA) increased by 0.5 per cent to $0.8008, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.