Naira Weakens at P2P, I&E, Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the black market, the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, January 4.

In the P2P forex segment, the value of the local currency dropped N9 against the American currency to quote at N758/$1 compared to the preceding session’s N749/$1.

In the parallel market, the domestic currency lost N3 against the US currency to settle at N740/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s rate of N737/$1, as the demand for FX by those travelling abroad and for payment of school fees begins to spike, putting pressure on the Naira.

Also, in the official market, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback yesterday by 67 Kobo or 0.15 per cent to trade at N461.67/$1 versus the previous day’s value of N461.00/$1.

The Naira declined in the market window despite the value of FX transactions waning by 54.8 per cent or $84.12 million to $69.33 million from the $153.45 million recorded a day earlier.

In the interbank segment of the market, the Naira witnessed a negative movement against the Pound Sterling but appreciated on the Euro.

Against the British currency, it lost N2.13 to sell for N542.83/£1, in contrast to the previous day’s N540.70/£1 and against the Euro, it appreciated by N2.01 to close at N477.44/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N479.45/€1.

In the cryptocurrency market, there were recoveries from the previous day’s losses ahead of the release of minutes from the recent US Federal Reserve meeting.

Cardano (ADA) rose by 6.1 per cent to trade at $0.2661, Binance Coin (BNB) added 5.0 per cent to sell for $257.67, Ethereum (ETH) saw its value go up by 3.7 per cent to $1,254.15, and Dogecoin (DOGE) made a 3.3 per cent appreciation to sell at $0.0723.

Further, Solana (SOL) made a 1.7 per cent rise to quote at $13.19, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 1.2 per cent to close at $16,843.86, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 0.4 per cent addition to trade at $0.3468, and Litecoin (LTC) went up by 0.1 per cent to $75.24.

However, the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) traded flat at $1.00 each.