The Naira closed south against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) segment on Wednesday by N1.19 o 0.08 per cent to settle at N1,534.48/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,533.29/$1.
However, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official forex market yesterday by N2.36 to sell for N2,039.23/£1 versus the preceding session’s N2,041.59/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N6.13 to close at N1,760.71 /€1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,766.84/€1.
In the parallel market window, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the US Dollar yesterday at N1,540/$1.
Despite the depreciation of the local currency in the spot market, the value remains well within target with strong backing from ongoing reforms and improvements in macroeconomic stability despite global uncertainties and domestic challenges.
Also, excess Dollar supply and the activities of the security agencies against forex speculators and hoarders have kept the Nigerian currency within the recent trading range.
Market analysts also pointed out series of reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to attract foreign capital, stabilize prices, and restore confidence in the exchange rate regime, have been paying off.
As for the cryptocurrency market, majority of benchmarked tokens experienced mixed outcome after some recovered within major timeframes in the short-term domain. This outcome has caused both institutional investors and retail traders to be concerned on whether the recent gains are fundamental or not.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 1.6 per cent to $110.65, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3,858.84, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $118,361.35, and Ripple (XRP) garnered 0.2 per cent to sell at $3.15.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) lost 0.4 per cent to trade at $0.7813, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $0.2230, Solana (SOL) slid by 0.2 per cent to $180.82, and Binance Coin (BNB) gained 0.1 per cent to finish at $801.36, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.