The Naira extended its gain against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, November 25 by N7.49 or 0.52 per cent to close at N1,446.32/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,453.81/$1.
Also, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N5.40 to settle at N1,902.19/£1 compared with the N1,907.59/£1 it was traded on Monday and improved against the Euro by N7.10 to finish at N1,671.07/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s closing price of N1,678.29/€1.
In the black market, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,460/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,465/$1 and at the GTBank forex counter, the local currency gained N5 to sell at N1,455/$1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,460/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday retained its Monetary Policy Rate at 27 per cent after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) consolidated the progress already made in moderating inflation and stabilising the financial system. The MPC also resolved to maintain the cash reserve requirement for deposit money banks at 45 per cent, keep merchant banks’ CRR at 16 per cent, apply a 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits, and retain the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.
According to the apex bank governor, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the decisions were guided by the need “to sustain the progress made so far towards achieving low and stable inflation,”
He noted that the easing of inflationary pressure was supported by sustained monetary tightening, a stable exchange rate, increased capital inflows, and a surplus in the current account balance. He added that relative stability in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and improved food supply also contributed to the pace of disinflation.
The governor said the country was in a favourable position with its $46.7 billion external reserves, which was boosted by rising non-oil exports, improved oil production, higher remittances, and increasing portfolio investment.
As for the cryptocurrency market, as traders remain optimistic about potential US Federal Reserve rate cuts, there were some who decided to weigh the risk and this created a mix outcome among benchmarked coins.
Ripple (XRP) fell by 2.4 per cent to $2.18, Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 0.5 per cent to $87,526.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.4204, and Binance Coin (BNB) slipped by 0.2 per cent to $859.24.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.6 per cent to $138.55, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.5 per cent to $2,923.35, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 0.4 per cent to 84.81, and Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.3 per cent to $0.1513, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.