The Naira traded at N1,536.51/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, August 25 compared with the N1,536.51/$1 it was traded last Friday after it depreciated by N1.43 or 0.09 per cent.
Equally, the Nigerian currency slumped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading session by N14.31 to trade at N2,075.71/£1 versus the preceding session’s N2,061.40/£1 and lost N16.25 against the Euro to close at N1,797.62/€1, in contrast to the previous rate of N1,781.87/€1.
However, in the black market, the exchange rate of the Nigerian Naira to the United States Dollar remained unchanged yesterday at N1,545/$1.
Without a considerable injection into the FX market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week offered local banks and foreign portfolio investors 25.99 per cent as a spot rate for OMO bills with 124 days to maturity.
Analysts said the steep spot rate suggests the apex is seeking to attract and keep offshore inflows for longer to sustain FX liquidity. The authority also sold $50 million to banks to push the supply side amidst a decline in FX inflows.
Total FX inflows settled at $751.70 million for the week, lower than the $787.50 million recorded in the previous week. Exporters emerged as the leading contributors, accounting for $216.10 million of total inflows, according to Coronation Merchant Bank research unit.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it fell to profit taking following last week’s dovish comment from US Federal Reserves chairman, Mr Jerome Powell, regarding possible rate cuts.
Market observers say thinning liquidity, exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows, and fragile onchain activity collide with whales looking elsewhere and retail traders long positions getting liquidated.
Solana (SOL) declined by 7.1 per cent to $189.00, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 6.6 per cent to $0.2110, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 6.00 per cent to $0.8397, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped 5.4 per cent to $4,421.56.
Further, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.1 per cent to $111.07, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped by 2.9 per cent to $845.55, Ripple (XRP) went down by 2.0 per cent to $2.92, and Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.9 per cent to $110,177.98, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat $1.00 apiece.