Naira Depreciates to N1,603/$1 at NAFEM, N1,620/$1 at Parallel Market

During the trading session, the local currency was exchanged with the greenback at N1,603.16/$1, in contrast to the N1,601.40/$1 it was traded a day earlier, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Also, the Nigerian currency weakened against the British Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N6.71 to quote at N2,121.97/£1 compared with the previous day’s value of N2,115.26/£1 and tumbled against the Euro by N9.28 to sell for N1,818.17/€1 versus Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,808.89/€1.

In the parallel market, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar to finish at N1,620/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,615/$1.

The pressure on the domestic currency came as the central bank sold over $30.00 million at rates between N1,590.00/$ and N1,601.50/$ this week to authorised forex dealers.

At the cryptocurrency market, things turned bullish as the US Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr Jerome Powell, dashed hopes for early rate cuts, citing the need to assess the impact of US tariffs on the global economy.

The Federal Reserve chair also mentioned that the US central bank needed more time to see the effects of tariffs play out in the global economy. The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.

Market analysts noted that the remarks disappointed rate cuts optimist by stressing focus on protecting against tariff-driven price hikes from driving a long-term rise in inflation expectations.

Solana (SOL) jumped by 7.2 per cent to trade at $134.28, Cardano (ADA) added 2.8 per cent to close at $0.6209, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $0.1570, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 2.1 per cent to $1,602.70, Ripple (XRP) gained 1.9 per cent to close at $2.09, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.5 per cent to $84,749.46, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.7 per cent to $583.08.

But Litecoin (LTC) declined by 0.7 per cent to finish at $75.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.