By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated by 0.15 per cent or 60 kobo against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market on Friday to close at the rate of N394/$1 compared with the N394.60/$1 it sold previously.
The gain recorded at the specialised market for investors happened despite a spike in the request for forex by customers, but the smooth supply of the foreign currency eased the pressure on the Nigerian currency, causing it to grow stronger at the session.
According to data obtained by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, yesterday, the turnover at the I&E segment stood at $392.99 million, 180.6 per cent or $252.92 million higher than the $140.07 million recorded on Thursday.
Like earlier stated, the available of FX to meed the huge demand on Friday was responsible for the local currency closing stringer than the Dollar.
It was keenly observed that the local currency extended its recent gains against the American currency at the black market further by N1 yesterday as it closed at N475/$1 versus N476/$1 it was traded at the preceding session.
However, the Naira depreciated by N1 against the British Pound Sterling to wrap the day at N625/£1 in contrast to N625/£1 it was exchanged at the same window on Thursday. Also, against the Euro, the domestic currency further lost N3 to close at N580/€1 compared with N577/€1 it ended at the previous session.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window of the market, the Naira traded flat against the greenback on Friday at N395/$1 just as it remained unchanged against the Dollar at the interbank segment yesterday at N379/$1.
Meanwhile, at the cryptocurrency market on Friday, things got better for the Bitcoin (BTC) as it appreciated by 1.4 per cent to trade at 8,845,498.59.
Also, the Dash (DASH) gained 2.0 per cent to trade at N45,386.09, the Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 2.0 per cent to trade at N36,594.30, the Tron (TRX) rose by 0.3 per cent to sell for N13.80, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) improved by 1.2 per cent to sell for N486.50.
However, the Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.1 per cent to trade at N265,985.41, while the Ripple (RPX) declined by 3.9 per cent to close at N258.50.
Modupe Gbadeyanka