After a series of declines, the Naira improved its value against the US Dollar by N5.27 or 0.34 per cent to N1,543.94/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, June 26 from the N1,549.21/$1 it was traded on Wednesday.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N23.13 to sell for N2,106.89/£1 compared with the previous day’s N2,083.76/£1 and lost N14.16 against the Euro to settle at N1,797.52/€1 versus the N1,783.36/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the black market, the Nigerian Naira closed flat against the greenback during the trading session at N1,580/$1.
In a note, AIICO Capital Limited said the support the Naira received against the Dollar in the official forex market came from improved FX liquidity from local sources, International Oil Companies (IOCs), and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), driven by a broader risk-on sentiment in global markets.
The latest update from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that gross external reserves printed at $37.41 billion, representing a decline of $54.09 million.
Market analysts also noted that the domestic currency is likely to remain stable near current levels, evidenced by remaining within the N1,500/$1 and N1,560/$1 range.
Also, improvement in macroeconomic numbers and sustained economic reform programmes have been noted to boost foreign investors’ sentiment and confidence in the wider financial market.
Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) lost 4.2 per cent to settle at $2.09 as Judge Analisa Torres recently rejected a joint attempt by Ripple and the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to modify the court’s previous judgment with an agreed-upon injunction.
The crypto market was in red due to cooling inflation indicators, diminishing geopolitical risks, and renewed optimism surrounding crypto policy frameworks in Asia.
Also, the Iran-Israel conflict seems to be over for the time being while easing inflation fears and the likelihood of tariffs being watered down are compounding pressure on US Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and he will likely either cut rates soon or be replaced earlier than expected.
During the trading day, Solana (SOL) fell by 2.5 per cent to $141.32, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.4 per cent to $0.5572, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 1.9 per cent to $0.1614, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.5 per cent to $2,449.93, Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.5 per cent to $107,340.21, and Litecoin (LTC) slipped by 0.3 per cent to $85.12.
However, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.1 per cent to $646.61, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.