The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by 81 Kobo or 0.1 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, August 22 to close at N1,535.08/$1 compared with the previous closing value of N1,535.89/$1 .
Also, the local currency rose further against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the trading day by N7.43 to trade at N2,061.40/£1 versus the preceding day’s N2,064.55/£1 and gained N6.08 against the Euro to settle at N1,781.87/€1 compared with the previous session’s N1,785.96/€1.
In the black market window, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the United States Dollar at N1,545/$1.
The ease continued as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offered local banks and foreign portfolio investors 25.99 per cent as a spot rate for OMO bills with 124 days to maturity.
The apex bank achieved FX inflows via OMO sales at relatively high spot rates to attract and keep offshore investors in the economy.
The central bank conducted an open market operation on Thursday after more than N1 trillion in inflows flooded the financial system, reversing the deficit liquidity condition to a surplus. Hence, the central bank floated N600 billion OMO bills across two standard tenors.
This move showed that the CBN is ensuring all it needs to keep the market stable with market analysts expecting the domestic currency to remain range-bound at N1,530 – N1,560 per Dollar in the near term buoyed by cooling inflation and reduced speculation.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned bullish as the US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted at potential rate cuts during a speech at Jackson Hole.
Despite the hint, there were warnings as the central banker said “the downside risks to employment are rising,” and “If those risks materialize, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment.”
The comments suggest rate cuts could be on the table next month, which would directly benefit risk assets like crypto.
Solana (SOL) grew by 12.9 per cent to $206.45, Ethereum (ETH) surged by 10.7 per cent to $4,741.71, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 9.9 per cent to $0.2379, and Cardano (ADA) jumped by 9.3 per cent to $0.9291.
Further, Ripple (XRP) increased by 7.3 per cent to $3.05, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 5.6 per cent to $122.23, Binance Coin (BNB) added 4.9 per cent to sell for $889.05, and Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 2.5 per cent to $115,693.22, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.