The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, April 2 by 0.43 per cent or N6.63 to trade at N1,531.63/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,531.63/$1.
This happened after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that its net forex reserves reached $23.11 billion last year, a development that boosted the confidence of investors.
In a report earlier this week, the apex bank said net foreign exchange reserves for last year was the highest in the last three years, signalling a major improvement in the country’s external financial position.
The CBN said the improved position was due to “substantial reduction” in short-term foreign exchange liabilities, notably swaps and forward obligations.
It also cited measures aimed at boosting forex market confidence and reserves, alongside increased non-oil foreign exchange inflows.
The domestic currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N9.21 to close at N1,982.66/£1 compared with last Friday’s N1,991.87/£1 and gained N4.03 on the Euro to quote at N1,656.96/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,660.99/€1.
But in the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the US Dollar on Wednesday by N5 to trade at N1,555/$1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s rate of N1,550/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, the US President, Mr Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs on China and other nations affected traders’ decisions yesterday.
On Wednesday, President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imports from 180 nations, including higher taxes on trading partners identified as worst offenders, such as China and the European Union.
This suppressed Solana (SOL) by 4.0 per cent to $119.14 and Cardano (ADA) went down by 2.6 per cent to finish at $0.6496, with Ethereum (ETH) down by 1.6 per cent to $1,825.59, while Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 1.5 per cent to sell at $0.1658.
Further, Ripple (XRP) dropped 1.0 per cent to settle at $2.05, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.9 per cent to close at $83,246.52, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
However, Litecoin (LTC) recorded a 2.2 per cent rise to sell for $83.56, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 1.3 per cent to end at $606.76.