The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar by 0.19 per cent or N2.95 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday to close at N1,499.00/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s rate of N1,501.95/$1.
However, the local currency weakened against the British Pound Sterling by N3.75 in the official market during the trading session to settle at N1,898.47/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,894.72/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N2.76 to quote at N1,572.87/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s value of N1,570.11/€1.
In the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar yesterday at N1,500/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.
The Naira recovery comes amid scare from a drop in the country’s foreign reserves which has lost over $2 billion in the last month, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued to prop up the market.
The fall indicates that currency may be volatile in coming weeks after maintaining stability in the past weeks.
The CBN has also helped the Naira by clearing a backlog of orders to sell Naira for foreign currency and boosting Dollar supply to the bureau de change (BDC) operators.
Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, there were large declines after President Donald Trump said Thursday that he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, starting March 4, alongside doubling the 10 per cent universal tariff charged on imports from China.
Market analysts noted that with US tariffs regaining centrality, it will drive the Dollar sustainably higher, putting pressure on assets like crypto.
The Dollar index, which tracks the greenback’s value against major currencies, rose as renewed concerns about U.S. tariffs boosted demand for the US Dollar.
Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 7.6 per cent to $79,585.90.
Since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, when BTC hit an all-time high of $109,000, the asset has dropped nearly 26 per cent.
Despite the recent volatility over recent days, institutions still remain bullish on BTC.
Cardano (ADA) declined by 11.1 per cent to settle at $0.5935, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 10.9 per cent to $0.1861, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 9.9 per cent to $2,116.10, and Ripple (XRP) lost 9.3 per cent to finish at $2.01.
Further, Solana (SOL) slumped by 8.9 per cent to trade at $128.66, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 8.5 per cent to $117.52, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 7.3 per cent to $571.78, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.