Naira Gains 22 Kobo Against US Dollar at Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated marginally against the US Dollar by 22 Kobo or 0.02 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, September 14, exchanging at N1,326.30/$1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,326.52/$1.

It equally improved its rate against the Pound Sterling at the official market during the session by N5.70 to quote at N1,786.13/£1 compared with the previous N1,792.52/£1, and gained N13.75 on the Euro to close at N1,529.36/€1 versus N1,540.22/€1.

However, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the United States currency at the GTBank FX counter yesterday by N5 to N1,335/$1 from N1,330/$1, and at the parallel market, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.

Activities data showed that NAFEM interbank FX turnover moderated by about 35.8 per cent to $95.611 million on Monday from $148.848 million last Friday.

FX analysts expect the Naira to maintain its appreciation trend in September, with the official exchange rate likely to test the N1,300/$1 level as strengthening external reserves and improved FX market liquidity continue to support supply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market overlooked previous triggers, rising despite a 25 basis point rate hike last Wednesday, now essentially fully priced in ahead of the October 28 US Federal Reserve meeting.

Odds for a second rate hike have jumped to 44 per cent versus 15 per cent one week ago and were about 6 per cent one month ago.

Also, crude oil continues to remain elevated, stoking inflationary pressure to which the US central bank might have to act if it doesn’t soon show signs of slowing down.

Ripple (XRP) jumped by 6.9 per cent to $1.45, Solana (SOL) expanded by 2.3 per cent to $103.68, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 2.1 per cent to $78,909.10, Ethereum (ETH) surged by 1.7 per cent to $2,555.59, and Cardano (ADA) grew by 1.5 per cent to $0.2120.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 0.5 per cent to $0.0849, Binance Coin (BNB) improved by 0.4 per cent to $725.05, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.33934, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.