Naira Worsens Further to N1,690/$1 at NAFEM Amid Spike in Seasonal Demand

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira weakened further to N1,690.37/$1 on Monday, November 19 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,652.25/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX).

It was observed that the 2.31 per cent or N38.12 decline suffered by the local currency against the United States currency in the official market was influenced by high seasonal demand, coupled with low forex liquidity in the country, piling pressure on the country’s legal tender.

In the same vein, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N24.86 to sell at N2,125.40/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,100.54/£1, and against the Euro, it appreciated by N32.30 to quote at N1,782.23/€1 versus the last session’s rate of N1,796.61/€1.

Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange indicated that the FX turnover slumped by $123.49 million or 41.6 per cent to $173.14 million from $296.63 billion.

The decline in supply comes amid the wider macroeconomic environment of Nigeria, which has impacted supply.

In its latest outlook, Veriv Africa, a data insights company, said there are no indications that the Naira will appreciate in the near term.

The outlook, which covers economic projections for next year, added that this could see a change of fortune unless there is a marked increase in foreign exchange inflow and external reserves.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian currency maintained stability against the greenback on Monday to remain unchanged at N1,740/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, there was a decline in the price of Ripple (XRP) which had mounted heavily last week, falling by 5.2 per cent on profit taking.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) legal troubles could have a bearing on the agency’s pending appeal in the Ripple ruling, which said that XRP sales on public exchanges did not fall under the definition of a security.

Litecoin (LTC) dropped 4.4 per cent to $89.25, Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.9 per cent to $0.7525, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to close at $618.59, and Solana (SOL) fell by 0.3 per cent to sell at $241.30.

For the gainers, the biggest gainer was Dogecoin (DOGE) which jumped by 5.5 per cent to $0.3891 on the back of further endorsement by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk ahead of Donald Trump’s presidency and team formation.

For Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 1.3 per cent to $91,797.21, and Ethereum (ETH) increased by 0.9 per cent to $3,315.08, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.