The Naira further extended its positive run against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday by 32 Kobo or 0.02 per cent to settle at N1,525.99/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,526.31/$1.
But, in the same official market window, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N7.18 to sell at N2,081.84/£1 compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N2,074.66/£1 and gained N1.31 against the Euro to close at N1,794.52/€1 versus the N1,795.83/€1 it was traded at midweek.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar during the session, remaining unchanged at N1,550/$1.
Market analysts noted that the Naira has been supported by sufficient FX liquidity and foreign demand for short-term government debt due to high yields.
Traders told Business Post that the appreciation is expected to continue for some time, even possibly towards the N1,500/$1 target of the government’s budget level.
However, caution came from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which warned that the country may struggle with earnings and economic downturn if crude oil prices in the global market continue to decline.
A look at the digital currency market showed that traders took profit after the US employment picture was far stronger than forecast in June, furthering US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s insistence on remaining patient with respect to easing monetary policy.
Market participants are closely monitoring economic data for signals about the Federal Reserve’s next move, but it appears Mr Powell has remained insistent that the economy is in a good spot and the US central bank can thus stay patient as it considers the need for monetary ease. This stance has put him directly at odds with President Donald Trump.
Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 3.2 per cent to $0.1682, Cardano (ADA) slid by 2.8 per cent to $0.5863, Solana (SOL) dipped by 2.1 per cent to $152.15, and Ethereum (ETH) fell by 1.8 per cent to $2,554.07.
In addition, Ripple (XRP) declined by 1.7 per cent to quote at $2.23, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to $88.55, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 0.4 per cent to $108,916.02, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.4 per cent to finish at $658.57, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.