The Naira improved its value against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N10.15 or 0.68 per cent on Friday, September 10 to close at N1,489.49/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,499.64/$1.
The domestic currency also appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N29.78 to trade at N2,006.28/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N2,036.06/£1, and gained N18.56 to finish at N1,747.98/€1 versus the previous day’s price of N1,766.54/€1.
In the parallel market, the Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar during the trading session, remaining at N1,510/$1.
The gains posted by the local currency in the spot market was due to improved forex supply after a recent liquidity squeeze.
Gross FX reserves increased for the eleventh consecutive week, hitting $41.997 billion, giving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) enough leverage when it decides to sell FX to authorised dealers.
Meanwhile, market analysts expect the Naira to remain stable, underpinned by resilient FX market liquidity and improving domestic inflows.
External supports like the dovish shift in global monetary policy and the accompanying decline in treasury yields could also offer support as it could enhance investor appetite for Naira-denominated assets.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it moved southward on Friday as traders continue to eye downside volatility, hedging their bullish exposure despite recent positive signals, such as the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.2685, Solana (SOL) declined by 2.1 per cent to $239.31, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 2.0 per cent to $115.04, Ethereum (ETH) shrank by 1.4 per cent to $4,473.50, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 1.1 per cent to $3.00, Binance Coin (BNB) depleted by 1.0 per cent to $996.00, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.9 per cent to sell at $115,781.49, and Cardano (ADA) slumped by 0.7 per cent to $0.9024, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.