Naira Slumps Further at Official, Parallel Markets on FX Liquidity Squeeze

In the same vein, the domestic currency weakened against the Pound Sterling at the official market yesterday by N7.46 to sell for N1,985.94/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,978.48/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N17.39 to trade at N1,675.48/€1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,658.09/€1.

Equally, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the Dollar in the parallel market at midweek by N5 to quote at N1,585/$1 versus the N1,580/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

At the trading session, the Naira was under pressure due to forex liquidity squeeze despite recent moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the market.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was impacted by information about inflation figures in the US.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 per cent in February, according to a report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday against expectations which were 0.3 per cent.

This development puts the US Federal Reserve rate cuts firmly back in the plan.

Market analysts noted that President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs is serving as a high risk that can dampen the crypto market.

Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 4.3 per cent to $575.47, Dogecoin (DOGE) gained 3.3 per cent to sell at $0.1673, Ripple (XRP) grew by 2.4 per cent to $2.23, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $83,014.6, and Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.2 per cent to trade at $123.40.

On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 0.5 per cent to sell at $1,864.98, Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to settle at $0.7202, and Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to $89.36, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.