The Naira resumed from the Christmas holiday on Monday, December 29, with an 87 Kobo or 0.06 per cent gain against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to sell for N1,442.51/$1, in contrast to last Wednesday’s price of N1,443.38/$1.
Equally, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.91 to close at N1,945.66/£1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,949.57/£1 and gained N3.91 on the Euro to finish at N1,697.40/€1 versus the previous session’s closing price of N1,701.65/€1.
At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the greenback during the session by N8 to settle at N1,457/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s rate of N1,465/$1 and at the black market, the Naira gain N5 to finish at N1,480/$1.
The value of the Naira firmed up on Monday after receiving support from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who reassured investors and international partners that Nigeria’s economy remains stable and resilient despite a recent joint security operation conducted by Nigerian and the US forces in Sokoto on Christmas Day.
The operation, carried out on December 25, targeted ISIS-linked camps in Sokoto, with no reported civilian casualties.
US President Donald Trump described the strikes as “powerful and deadly” against “ISIS terrorist scum,” endangering Christian communities.
Ahead of the market reopening from the long Christmas break, Mr Edun stressed that Nigeria was “not at war with itself, nor with any nation,” but was decisively confronting terrorism in collaboration with trusted international partners.
This alongside efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) helped eased pressure on the local currency. The apex last week stepped up FX intervention with $150 million.
The market expects near-term exchange rate stability to persist underpinned by policy measures and improving market confidence.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens declined in thin year-end trading, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $87,300, down about more than 2 per cent alongside some top coins, with BTC losing 2.3 per cent to finish at $87,366.73.
Further, Cardano (ADA) declined by 6.5 per cent to $0.3521, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.1 per cent to $123.76, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.9 per cent to quote at $2,944.55, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.8 per cent to $0.1232, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $1.86, Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 1.7 per cent to $78.15, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.3 per cent to $853.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.