Naira Stabilises at N1,501/$1 at Official Market

In the same vein, it traded flat against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day at N1,896.62/£1 and also closed flat against the Euro at N1,569.16/€1.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Dollar by N10 to quote at N1,500/$1 compared with the previous trading session’s rate of N1,510/$1.

The local currency has found a solid footing with recent policies by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supporting the market.

According to celebrated economist and  chief executive of the Financial Derivative Company Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, these policies have effectively stabilised the Naira.

Mr Rewane, in an interview with Arise TV, stressed that CBN’s core mandate included maintaining external reserves to safeguard the Naira’s value, a responsibility it was currently fulfilling.

In the cryptocurrency market, comments by the US President, Mr Donald Trump, that its plans to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada were “going forward” affected the landscape.

President Trump first unveiled the tariffs on February 1, which lumps a 25 per cent tax on imports from the two countries, except Canadian energy, which would be hit with 10 per cent tariffs. Imports from China would also be subject to 10 per cent tariffs.

However, two days later, Mr Trump agreed to pause the tariffs for 30 days after Canada and Mexico agreed to boost border protections. Now he’s saying the plan is on schedule to resume when the pause lifts early next month.

The crypto markets have tumbled on Mr Trump’s other tariffs, too. Bitcoin (BTC) stumbled on February 9 after the President said he was slapping a 25 per cent tariff on aluminum and steel imports and again on February 13 when he signed an executive order for sweeping reciprocal tariffs. It fell yesterday by 4.3 per cent to sell for $91,569.03.

Solana (SOL) was down yesterday by 12.1 per cent to quote at $139.97, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 9.4 per cent to $0.2106, Litecoin (LTC) fell by 8.9 per cent to $113.14, and Ripple (XRP) slid by 8.8 per cent to $2.26.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 8.5 per cent to $2,494.23, Cardano slumped by 8.2 per cent to trade at $0.6816, and Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 5.5 per cent to $608.93, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.