Naira Firms to N1,352/$1 as FX Pressure Eases on CBN Intervention

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, October 27, by N14.74 or 1.1 per cent to close at N1,352.87/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,367.61/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N22.51 to trade at N1,803.24/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,825.75/£1, and gained N21.56 against the Euro to finish at N1,508.59/€1 versus N1,530.35/€1.

In the parallel market yesterday, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against its American counterpart at N1,380/$1.

Demand pressure eased on the local currency as interbank FX turnover fell by about 28.2 per cent to $543.740 million from $614.245 million, with the number of deals down to 197 deals from the 201 deals recorded on Monday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank injected US Dollar liquidity into the FX market through authorised dealer banks following the recent depreciation run of the Naira, which weakened to N1,367 per Dollar.

The intervention is aimed at easing pressure on the market and supporting the Naira after a sharp outflow of greenback tightened liquidity.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves have maintained an upward trajectory, rising to $55.2 billion on sustained inflows from sources including diaspora remittances and hydrocarbon exports.

Elevated global oil prices have also supported the country’s FX earnings, strengthening reserve accumulation and improving Nigeria’s external position.

In the cryptocurrency market, the bulls took charge as the US Federal Reserve is set to announce October’s decisions, which many are expecting will be unchanged. Instead, traders are watching for signals of a December rate increase.

Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 3.4 per cent to $0.0797, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $101.84, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 2.3 per cent to $1.32, Ethereum (ETH) added 2.1 per cent to settle at $2,349.04, and Bitcoin (BTC) jumped by 1.6 per cent to $80,767.71.

In addition, Cardano (ADA) increased by 1.4 per cent to $0.2059, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 1.3 per cent to $743.57, and Tron (TRON) climbed 0.9 per cent to $0.3309, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.