Naira Stable Across FX Windows as Cryptos Value Jump

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was stable against the US Dollar across all the segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday, August 9.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the indigenous currency maintained the exchange rate against the greenback at the close of transactions at N411.50/$1.

According to data obtained by Business Post from FMDQ Securities Exchange, the stability was supported by a decline in the demand for FX at the market segment.

The value of transactions at the window on Monday stood at $166.06 million, 11.8 per cent or $22.2 million lower than the previous session’s turnover of $188.26 million.

The same outcome was recorded at the interbank window of the forex market, where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold the greenback to commercial banks at N410.11/$1.

The trend continued at the unregulated segment of the FX market as the local currency recorded no movement against its American counterpart at N510/$1.

The domestic currency also traded flat against the Pound Sterling at the parallel market yesterday at N705/£1 but appreciated by N2 to close at N596/€1 compared with N598/€1 it traded at the previous session.

Cryptos See Surge in Value as US Senate Block Increased Regulation

There was a recovery in the cryptocurrency market on Monday as reports showed that an amendment in the US bipartisan infrastructure bill that would limit a proposal to increase federal regulation of cryptos was blocked by the American Senate.

The American upper legislative arm has not been able to agree on amending the legislation, which would require the consent of all 100 senators.

If they don’t do so, the bill would retain the original language dealing with cryptocurrency that has been strongly opposed by the industry and investors.

This sent positive signals to the market as Litecoin (LTC) led with a 15.2 per cent surge to trade at N84,991.80, followed by Dash (DASH) which gained 4.6 per cent to trade at N83,902.96, while Ethereum (ETH) recorded a 3.5 per cent appreciation to sell at N1,552,440.00.

Also, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.0 per cent to trade at N22,800,190.00, Tron (TRX) jumped by 2.7 per cent to sell for N33.88, Ripple (XRP) grew by 1.4 per cent to trade at N412.80, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) went up by 0.4 per cent to sell for N515.89.