Naira Firms to N1,431/$1 at NAFEM, N1,465/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira continued to edge the US Dollar and completed a whole week of gains in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, March 22, with a further 1.5 per cent or N21.79 appreciation to close at N1,431.49/$1  compared with the previous day’s N1,453.28/$1.

This happened despite a shortfall in the forex turnover in the official market yesterday by 30.8 per cent or $88.76 million to $199.71 million from Thursday’s $288.47 million.

In the spot market on Friday, the local currency weakened against the Pound Sterling by N48.06 to close at N1,840.95/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,792.89/£1 and against the Euro, it shed N45.24 to settle at N1,576.68/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,531.44/€1.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) declared on Wednesday that it has successfully resolved all valid foreign exchange backlogs, as pledged by Governor Yemi Cardoso, addressing inherited claims amounting to $7 billion.

The CBN said it finalised the payment of $1.5 billion to settle obligations to bank customers, thereby clearing the remaining balance of the FX backlog.

Mr Cardoso emphasised the priority of clearing the FX backlog to enhance credibility and confidence in the Nigerian economy.

This action helped the Nigerian Naira to gain strength in the parallel market yesterday as its value improved against the greenback by N25 to sell for N1,465/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,490/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a drop in momentum, with Ethereum (ETH) down by 5.3 per cent to $3,341.44 and Binance Coin (BNB) down by 4.1 per cent to $552.88.

In addition, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $173.48, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 3.4 per cent to $64,214.59, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 3.0 per cent slump to trade at $0.6135, Cardano (ADA) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.6227, and Litecoin (LTC) fell by 2.3 per cent to $83.93.

But Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to sell at $0.1618, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.