Despite 71.2% Spike in FX Demand, Naira Gains 0.21% at I&E

By Adedapo Adesanya, Ahmed Rahma

The Naira recorded gains at the beginning of the week as the domestic currency appreciated against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market.

According to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange by Business Post, the domestic currency appreciated by 84 kobo or 0.21 per cent to trade at N393.83/$1 on Monday in contrast to N394.67/$1 it traded previously.

The strengthening of the Nigerian currency against its American counterpart at the market segment came despite the spike in the demand for forex.

It was observed that the Naira was able to soak the pressure because of the availability of FX at the window. Transactions worth $69 million were recorded yesterday as against the $40.31 million of the preceding session, indicating $28.69 million or 71.2 per cent increase in the market turnover.

At the unregulated parallel market, the local currency continued to maintain stability against the greenback and on Monday, it traded flat at N475/$1. Against both the Pound Sterling and the Euro, the rates remained unchanged at N642/£1 and N580/£1 respectively.

Also, at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the market, data from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) showed that the value of the Naira to the Dollar remained unchanged yesterday at N395/$1.

At the interbank window of the forex market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) still auctioned the US Dollar to commercial banks at N379/$1.

At the cryptocurrency market, the volatility continued as Litecoin (LTC) emerged the day’s highest gainer with a 10.1 per cent appreciation followed by Ethereum (ETH) which made an 8.8 per cent jump to trade at 640,000.

Ripple (XRP) continued to fight back as it gained 2.7 per cent in value to sell at N137.29, while Bitcoin pulled a 2.0 per cent gain to sell at N17,549,543.56.

In addition, Dash (DASH) appreciated by 1.7 per cent to N60,889.21, while Tron (TRX) recorded a 3.3 per cent rise to trade at N15.14 on Monday.

The US Dollar Tether (USDT) was the only slider at the Monday session as it recorded a 0.5 per cent decline to sell for N484.50.