The Naira improved it’s value against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 57 Kobo or 0.04 per cent on Monday, September 22 to close at N1,488.92/$1 compared with the N1,489.49/$1 it was traded at the previous session.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N4.82 to trade at N2,011.10/£1 versus last Friday’s closing price of N2,006.28/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N6.19 to settle at N1,754.17/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s value of N1,747.98/€1.
In the black market window, the exchange rate of the Nigerian Naira to the greenback remained unchanged at N1,510/$1 during the trading season.
The Naira is poised to see more gains on the Dollar but fluctuate on other currencies as the American currency gets more intervention volume than others, like the Pound and the Euro, among others.
For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) injected $150 million into the FX market to help the Naira exchange rate redirection. The apex bank sold US Dollar to local deposit money banks on the back of fluctuating demand for foreign currencies, especially the dominant greenback.
Regardless, market analysts expect the Naira to remain stable, underpinned by resilient FX market liquidity and improving domestic inflows.
Further external support came from the Nigerian economy trajectory which has continued to show signs of improvement with data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing that the gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 4.23 per cent in the second quarter of this year, its quickest pace in about four years, helped by higher oil output and a stronger performance by industry and agriculture.
Nigeria recorded average daily oil production of 1.68 million barrels per day over April to June this year, indicating recovery in the country’s major source of FX.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed as traders continue to eye downside volatility, as impending Federal Reserve speeches and the upcoming PCE report could add to market volatility.
Last week, the Federal Reserve (Fed) delivered its first interest rate rate cut since December, while signaling more easing in the coming months. Yet, despite this dovish move, the market remains unbalanced.
Solana (SOL) lost 5.8 per cent to sell at $217.23, Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 3.7 per cent to $989.30, Litecoin (LTC) crashed by 3.6 per cent to $105.84, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 3.3 per cent to $0.8192, and Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 3.0 per cent to $0.2401.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 2.0 per cent to $4,187.05, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.3 per cent to $112,730.00, and Ripple (XRP) grew by 0.1 per cent to $2.86, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.