The Naira recorded its first drawback against the US Dollar in over a week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, September 11.
It lost 0.06 per cent or 85 Kobo against the greenback in the official market yesterday to settle at N1,502.14/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,501.29/$1.
This was driven by a slight increase in the demand for forex at the market window during the trading session, especially from corporate users and other market players, overlooking the near-term stability that the local currency has shown in the last two months.
However, in the same spot market, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling on Thursday by N5.11 to sell for N2,029.68/£1 versus the N2,034.79/£1 it was transacted at midweek, and appreciated against the Euro by N4.28 to close at N1,755.09/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,759.37/€1.
In the parallel market segment, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar yesterday, closing unchanged at N1,520/$1.
There are expectations that robust FX liquidity and an efficient forex market will see the local currency trade between N1,500 and N1,550 in coming weeks.
Market analysts expect sustained inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to boost liquidity while actionable policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reduces speculation with banks and other sources offering competitive rates.
Also, Nigeria’s gross external reserves increased to $41.624 billion on Wednesday, signalling enough power for the apex bank to step in, when due.
In the cryptocurrency market, traders remained optimistic about possible rate cuts, even as key economic data released on Thursday indicated that the US economy may be on the brink of stagflation – a challenging mix of sluggish growth, a weakening labor market, and rising prices.
Despite these concerns, crypto market participants remain optimistic, focusing instead on anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts and signals from traditional markets as drivers for higher crypto valuations.
Solana (SOL) surged by 6.5 per cent to $237.88, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 4.2 per cent to $0.2612, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 2.3 per cent to $4,453.78, Ripple (XRP) grew by 1.8 per cent to $3.05, and Cardano (ADA) jumped by 1.4 per cent to $0.9012.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) increased its value by 1.2 per cent to sell for $908.55, and Bitcoin (BTC) soared by 0.8 per cent to $115,332.27, while Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $116.22, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) trading flat at $1.00 each.