The foreign exchange (FX) demand pressure on the Naira eased on Thursday, October 16, causing it to gain 0.15 per cent or N2.26 against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to trade at N1,471.03/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,473.29/$1.
However, the local currency depreciated further against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N10.07 to sell for N1,976.18/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,966.11/£1, and lost N2.23 against the Euro to quote at N1,714.49/€1, in contrast to the N1,712.26/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
Equally, at GTBank, the Nigerian Naira weakened against the greenback during the session by N5 to close at N1,475/$1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,470/$1.
In the black market segment, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the Dollar on Thursday at N1,485/$1.
The Naira is expected to depreciate further next week as foreign investors sell local assets amid global risk aversion and limited dollar supply.
This will overpower expectations that recent moderating inflation will support the local currency with traders noting that foreign investors are selling local assets owing to a global risk-off mood caused by escalating trade tensions between the US and China, the world’s two biggest economies and weak Dollar supply by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s inflation stood at 18.02 per cent in September 2025, the first time it has dropped below 20 per cent in years.
Investment firm CardinalStone in a note said “the ongoing disinflationary trends bode well for currency valuation. Combined with a sustained current account surplus and a steady build-up in FX reserves, this is expected to underpin further Naira appreciation. “
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was under pressure as other assets like gold and silver notched new record highs.
Key metrics point to tightening liquidity conditions in the US financial system, leading to traders exiting their positions.
Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 3.5 per cent to $0.1889, Cardano (ADA) slid by 3.5 per cent to $0.6455, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.3 per cent to $186.65, Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 3.1 per cent to $1,141.78, and .Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $91.64.
Further, Ripple (XRP) declined by 2.6 per cent to close at $2.34, Ethereum (ETH) shrank by 2.3 per cent to $3,908.66, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 2.1 per cent to finish at $108,761.93, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.