FX Shortage Crashes Naira as Cryptocurrency Market Recovers

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a 26 kobo or 0.06 per cent loss against the Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market on Friday.

During the trading session, the exchange rate of the Naira to the United States currency closed at N416.33/$1 in contrast to the preceding day’s N416.07/$1.

This occurred amid a fall in the value of forex transactions at the I&E segment yesterday as the turnover stood at $67.71 million, 140.3 per cent or $94.99 million lower than the $162.7 million recorded a day earlier, implying an FX shortage crisis weighing on the value of the indigenous currency.

At the interbank segment of the market, the domestic currency depreciated against the American currency by 17 kobo as it closed at N416.88/$1 in contrast to N416.71/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

However, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling on the final trading day of the week by N1.31 to sell for N565.96/£1 compared with N567.27/£1 it was sold at the previous session.

But the domestic currency traded weaker against the Euro at the interbank segment yesterday by N8.03 to finish at N478.41/€1 in contrast to N470.38/€1 it was traded on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market continued its gradual recovery on Friday, with all the 10 key digital currencies monitored by Business Post across several trading platforms wearing the green robe.

The highest gainer for the session was Binance Coin (BNB), which skyrocketed by 13.9 per cent to trade at N178,806.14, with Bitcoin (BTC) rising by 9.8 per cent to sell for N23,617,399.99.

Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 9.5 per cent to trade at N70,851.75, Cardano (ADA) improved by 9.4 per cent to quote at N673.94, Ripple (XRP) grew by 8.7 per cent to sell at N401.28, while Ethereum (ETH) surged by 8.5 per cent to N1,742,027.21.

In addition, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 7.2 per cent to trade at N101.07, Dash (DASH) recorded a 5.8 per cent gain to sell at N66,918.75, Tron (TRX) appreciated by 5.4 per cent to quote at N40.78, while the United States Dollar Tether gained 2.3 per cent to trade at N575.82.