By Adedapo Adesanya
Naira wandered into danger territory on Friday, causing it to depreciate against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 0.17 per cent or N2.50 to quote at N1,483.99/$1compared with the preceding session’s N1,481.49/$1 amid volatility in the market, which has been attributed to seasonal demands.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange revealed that the value of forex transacted during the trading session increased by 26.2 per cent or $55.96 million to $269.27 million from the $213.31 million executed in the previous trading day.
Also, in the official FX market, the Nigerian Naira crumbled against the Pound Sterling during the trading day by N6.69 to finish at N1,899.92/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N1,893.23/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency lost N6.54 to settle at N1,617.61/€1 versus N1,611.07/€1.
The continuous depreciation of the Naira against the greenback and other currencies in recent months came amidst a significant surge in demand for the Dollar and market speculation.
But in the parallel market, the local currency improved its value against its American counterpart on Friday by N5 to sell for N1,490/$1 compared with the preceding session’s exchange rate of N1,495/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin dropped by 7.8 per cent to $0.1484, joining the broader crypto market in a sharp value decline as over $300 million was reportedly liquidated triggering a massive drop across the global market.
Amid this development, whale activities surrounding the leading memecoin DOGE have increased significantly, defying brewing negative sentiments. The activity surge follows a period of consolidation experienced by the memecoin near the $0.15 price level.
Solana (SOL) slumped by 5.0 per cent to $163.58, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 4.7 per cent to trade at $80.16, Ripple (XRP) waned by 4.2 per cent to $0.5003, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 3.7 per cent to $0.4454, Ethereum (ETH) lost 3.2 per cent to close at $3,698.17, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 2.5 per cent to $69,420.31, and Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 1.5 per cent to $693.47, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.