It was another good day for the Nigerian currency in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday as its value further strengthened against the United States Dollar.
In the parallel market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell for N1,610/$1, in contrast to the N1,615/$1 it was traded on Tuesday.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) at midweek, the Nigerian Naira gained N13.50 or 0.85 per cent against the American currency to quote N1,565.95/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,579.45/$1.
It was the third straight session the domestic currency was appreciating against the Dollar this week.
Equally, the Naira was stronger against the Pound Sterling at NAFEM during the session by N20.45 to trade at N2,122.92/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing rate of N2,143.37/£1 and improved against the Euro by N20.95 to finish at N1,788.54/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,809.49/€1.
The local currency has maintained this upward trend because the market seems to have found a bit of stability, helped by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the renewed level of stability in the Naira is the result of deliberate and disciplined reform efforts undertaken by the apex bank.
In a recent series of post on X (formerly Twitter), he pointed out that the gap between the official and parallel exchange rates had largely been eliminated, highlighting it as one of the most significant changes in Nigeria’s foreign exchange landscape in recent memory.
Mr Cardoso credited this development to what he described as the federal government’s unwavering commitment to reform and the emergence of greater clarity in policy direction.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market turned bearish due to profit taking amid recent macro and policy conditions that have created uncertainty in risky assets.
Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 3.5 per cent to $0.1887, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 2.7 per cent to $87.73, Solana (SOL) went down by 2.6 per cent to $152.49, Cardano (ADA) lost 2.3 per cent to finish at $0.6768, Ripple (XRP) declined by 1.9 per cent to $2.19, Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.8 per cent to $104,554.02, Ethereum (ETH) shrank by 0.5 per cent to $2,612.91, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.3 per cent to $666.96, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.