Naira Appreciates to N1,525/$1 at Official Market, Stable at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira improved against the United States Dollar on Wednesday, July 9, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on signs that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will continue to offer support for the market.

Data from the central bank showed that the domestic currency gained N4.13 or 0.23 per cent on the greenback to trade at N1,525.76/$1, in contrast to the N1,529.89/$1 it was traded on Tuesday.

Equally, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N31.10 to settle at N2,067.15/£1 versus the preceding day’s N2,098.25/£1 and against the Euro, it chalked up N5.59 to close at N1,781.71/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,787.66/€1.

In the black market, the Nigerian currency remained unchanged against the Dollar at the midweek session at N1,530/$1.

After initial volatility in the first half of the year, the Naira has stabilised even as global oil prices declined, a sharp contrast to its previous fundamentals and this is expected to continue amid rising FX reserves.

According to CardinalStone Research, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves will close the year at around $41 billion based on external loans worth $3.2 billion, which the Federal Government aims to secure in the second half of 2025 to meet fiscal obligations.

Additional capital inflows from portfolio investors are expected to continue coming, having recently supported the balance and pushed reserves above the $37.27 billion recorded at the end of June.

Meanwhile, reserves have faced pressure due to sizeable debt repayments and ongoing interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to keep the Naira stable in the face of external shocks.

In the cryptocurrency market, traders weighed positive signals after exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted billions in investor capital in three months, amid increasing political pressure on the US Federal Reserve to cut rates.

President Donald Trump has openly demanding that Chair Jerome Powell cut rates to 1 per cent and resign, with Ethereum (ETH) growing by 6.9 per cent to $2,811.33.

Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 5.5 per cent to sell at $0.1817, Cardano (ADA) added 5.3 per cent to trade at $0.6264, Ripple (XRP) gained 4.4 per cent to close at $2.42, Solana (SOL) increased by 3.5 per cent to $158.28, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.4 per cent to $91.07, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.4 per cent to $111,412.99, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 1.4 per cent to $672.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.