The Naira maintained stability against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, December 9, at N1,451/$1.
Equally, it closed flat against Pound Sterling and the Euro in the same market window, remaining unchanged at N1,934.75/£1 and N1,691.13/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the US Dollar in the parallel market yesterday at N1,465/$1 but lost N2 at the GTBank FX counter to sell for N1,460/$1 versus Monday’s N1,458/$1.
Although the local currency faces pressures from increasing year-end Dollar demand, stoked by imports and some multinationals that are upstreaming US Dollars abroad; according to Cowry Asset Management, this is still stable reflecting divergent currency dynamics between the regulated official segment and the informal markets.
The Naira’s movement remains within the trading band, suggesting that the FX market is adjusting gradually to seasonal pressures while awaiting further policy signals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
As for the cryptocurrency market, it witnessed a recovery ahead of an expected Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
The US central bank is expected to lower benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points at its two-day meeting concluding on Wednesday. While the rate cut is largely anticipated by market participants, looser financial conditions with a resilient US economy could help bolster risk appetite on markets.
Market analysts noted that the change of pattern could point to seller exhaustion.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 8.7 per cent to $0.4637, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 7.2 per cent to $3,312.63, Solana (SOL) rose by 5.3 per cent to $139.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased its value by 5.0 per cent to $0.1467, and Bitcoin (BTC) mounted a 3.2 per cent gain to sell at $92,617.61.
In addition, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 2.3 per cent to $84.52, Ripple (XRP) grew by 2.0 per cent to $2.08, and Binance Coin (BNB) improved by 0.9 per cent to $894.14, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.