The Naira opened the week on Monday, January 5, higher against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) after gaining N1.54 or 0.11 per cent to sell for N1,429.31/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,430.85/$1.
This positive run extended was witnessed against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday as the Nigerian currency improved its value by N5.51 to trade at N1,920.27/£1 versus last Friday’s price of N1,925.78/£1 and appreciated against the Euro by N10.80 to close at N1,667.43/€1 compared with the previous trading day’s rate of N1,687.24/€1.
At the black market, the Naira chalked up N5 against the US Dollar during the session to sell for N1,470/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,475/$1 and at the GTBank forex counter, it lost N3 to settle at N1,438/$1 versus the previous value of N1,435/$1.
The Naira seems to have continued from where it left of in 2025, a year that it maintained relative stability, a sharp contrast from the extreme volatility witnessed in 2024. The domestic currency exchange rate appreciated by 7.4 per cent year-on-year to close FY 2025 at N1,429/$1.
Despite pressure from the movement of the Dollar in the international market early on Monday, the Naira is shielded by a broadly stable outlook, supported by rising external reserves and sustained Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs).
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.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) continued to trade above $2, driven by heavy institutional trading and a shrinking supply on exchanges. It’s value went up by 10.9 per cent on Monday to $2.36.
Spot XRP exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the US posted $48 million in inflows on Monday, extending a green streak for the products, which have not seen a single day of outflows since their November 13 launch.
Yesterday, Cardano (ADA) grew by 4.6 per cent to $0.4202, Solana (SOL) added 2.3 per cent to quote at $138.33, Ethereum (ETH) increased by 2.1 per cent to $3,223.22, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $83.45, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.9 per cent to $93,323.81, Binance Coin (BNB) also appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $905.01, and Dogecoin (DOGE) soared by 0.2 per cent to $0.1505, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.