Speculators Panic as Naira Now N1,485/$1 at NAFEM, N,1610/$1 at Parallel Market

This week, the central bank further tightened its belt with the introduction of an FX code to enhance exchange rate market transparency and it is making forex speculators to lose money.

On Thursday, the Nigerian Naira appreciated further by 1.64 per cent or N24.77 against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to sell below N1,500/$1 for the first time in several months.

Data obtained by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the local currency was exchanged with the Dollar yesterday in the official market at N1,485.95/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,510.72/$1.

In the same spot market, the domestic currency traded flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro during the session at N1,871.77/£1 and N1,568.58/€1, respectively.

A for the parallel market, the Naira improved its value against its American counterpart on Thursday by N10 to close at N1,610/$1, in contrast to midweek’s price of N1,620/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed, with profit-taking occurring amid Mr Donald Trump’s tariff plans among his slew of policy directions.

Crypto investors expect a change from President Trump who promised on the campaign trail to position the US as a leader in the crypto space.

Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.6 per cent to trade at $3,271.10, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 1.9 per cent to $130.06, Binance Coin (BNB) went up 0.7 per cent to $680.42, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.1 per cent to $238.29, and Cardano (ADA) added 0.04 per cent to finish at $0.9618.

On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.7 per cent to $3.09, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 0.3 per cent to sell at $0.3303, and Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 0.2 per cent to $104,775.74, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 apiece.