Naira Strengthens to N415/$1 After Christmas Break

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira returned from the Christmas holiday stronger against the US Dollar on Wednesday, gaining 10 kobo or 0.02 per cent at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market.

Data showed that the local currency was traded yesterday at the window at N415.00/$1 compared with N415.10/$1 it closed at the session, which was on Friday, December 24.

This happened on the back of a 29.1 per cent or $49.14 million fall in the value of FX trades recorded at the market segment during the midweek session.

Business Post gathered that the turnover for the trading day was $119.48 million as against the $168.62 million recorded at the previous session.

However, at the interbank segment of the market, the Nigerian Naira recorded a flat outcome against the American currency to finish at N411.95/$1.

In the same vein, the domestic currency closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro on Wednesday at the same forex market window at N552.75/£1 and N466.82/€1 respectively.

Meanwhile, at the cryptocurrency market, eight of the 10 digital coins tracked across several trading platforms pointed south amid a rising number of cases of the omicron variant.

In addition, environmental, social and governance investing and concerns over energy use have also been a catalyst in recent crypto declines.

The highest loser was Binance Coin (BNB) as it retreated by 4.6 per cent to trade at N211,229.85. Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 4.4 per cent to trade at N97.54, Ripple (XRP) declined by 3.8 to sell at N463.15, while Dash (DASH) recorded a 3.5 per cent depreciation to N75,251.82.

In addition, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.4 per cent to trade at N760.27, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a 2.5 per cent depreciation to settle at N26,183,902.21, Litecoin (LTC) fell by 0.7 per cent to trade at N83,908.25, while Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.5 per cent to sell at N2,145,000.00.

Conversely, Tron (TRX) appreciated by 4.1 per cent to trade at N44.67, while the United States Dollar Tether increased by 2.6 per cent to quote at N573.85.