By Adedapo Adesanya
Transactions at the foreign exchange (FX) market in Nigeria closed positive on Wednesday, with the Naira appreciating against the United States Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and the peer-to-peer (P2P) market segments.
At the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange (NAFEX), the local currency gained 67 kobo or 0.16 per cent against the greenback to close at N416.00/$1 compared with the previous day’s closing rate of N416.67/$1.
The domestic currency regained strength during the session as a result of FX supply to the market to meet the high forex demand of customers.
According to data obtained by Business Post, the value of FX transactions at the I&E window yesterday rose by 129.3 per cent or $96.38 million to $170.94 million from the preceding day’s $74.56 million.
However, the Naira was able to soak this pressure and come out stronger because the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was able to manage the forex liquidity.
A look at the performance of the other foreign currencies against the Nigerian Naira showed that it maintained stability against the Pound Sterling on Wednesday as it closed flat at N565.42/£1. It was the same outcome with the Euro as it remained unchanged at N476.75/€1.
But at the P2P market, the Naira appreciated against the American currency by N3 to trade at N571/$1 compared with N574/$1 it was exchanged on Tuesday.
As for the digital currency market, it was bullish as nine of the 10 benchmarked coins headed north on renewed interests in the asset class as the tension created by the tighter monetary policy from the US Federal Reserve and higher interest rates next month seems to have reduced.
Litecoin (LTC) moved up by 2.2 per cent to trade at N78,709.90, Tron (TRX) grew by 1.9 per cent to N39.70, Ethereum (ETH) made a 1.8 per cent gain to sell at N1,831,073.90, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.7 per cent to trade at N678.64, while Ripple (XRP) rose by 1.5 per cent to N505.23.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 1.5 per cent to N175,256.37, Bitcoin (BTC) leapt by 1.3 per cent to N25,144,346.49, Dash (DASH) improved by 1.3 per cent to trade at N65,025.41, while Dogecoin (DOGE) made a 1.0 per cent rise to sell at N92.89.
However, the US Dollar Tether (USDT) recorded a 0.9 per cent depreciation to sell for N573.98.
Dipo Olowookere