The Naira recorded a N10.24 or 0.72 per cent gain on the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, January 6, to close at N1,419.07/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,429.31/$1, extending the stellar start to the year.
The local currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N2.98 to trade at N1,917.20/£1 versus N1,920.27/£1 and gained N7.12 on the Euro to end at N1,660.31/€1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,667.43/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the domestic currency appreciated against the greenback on Tuesday by N3 to finish at N1,435/$1 versus the previous value of N1,438/$1 and at the parallel market, it maintained stability on the Dollar at N1,470/$1.
The Naira gains come amid ease in demand seen in the softer market activity at the start of the year, alongside reduced participation from offshore investors.
FX inflows into the NFEM window declined by 20.67 per cent week on week to $593.70 million from $748.40 million in the previous week, according to a weekly report by Coronation Merchant Bank.
Market analysts expect that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will maintain its strategic interventions in the FX market and implement initiatives aimed at boosting liquidity and curbing speculative activities.
Meanwhile, the CBN’s gross external reserves edged up by 0.58 per cent, rising by $264.56 million at the start of the year to $45.50 billion, and increasing further to $45.56 billion as of January 2, 2025.
A look at the digital currency market showed that it was in red, triggered by renewed selling pressure with market analysts saying the digital currencies are starting the year in recalibration mode rather than retreat.
After earlier gains. Ripple (XRP) slumped by 5.2 per cent to $2.25, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.9 per cent to $0.4111, Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.6 per cent to $0.1479, Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 1.4 per cent to $93,625.47, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.0 per cent to $82.90, and Solana (SOL) lost 0.4 per cent to sell $138.76.
On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.7 per cent to $914.53, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.3 per cent to $3,248.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.