Local Currency Gains N1.04 Against Dollar at Spot Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a winning opening day for the Naira as it gained N1.04 or 0.25 per cent against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, December 13.

At the spot market yesterday, the local currency was traded at N414.06/$1 compared with N415.10/$1 it was transacted last Friday.

During the session, the turnover increased by 43.8 per cent or $37.01 million as forex worth $121.45 million was traded compared with the $84.44 million executed at the previous trading day.

However, at the interbank segment of the market, the Naira recorded a marginal loss of one kobo against the US Dollar yesterday to trade at N411.76/$1 in contrast to N411.75/$1 it traded at the last trading session.

The domestic currency also depreciated by 50 kobo against the British Pound Sterling to trade at N543.56/£1 compared to the previous N543.06/£1 and depreciated by one kobo against the Euro to quote at N464.09/€1 in contrast to N464.08/€1.

Meanwhile, of the 10 cryptocurrencies tracked by Business Post on Monday, nine closed bearish amid concerns about the Omicron virus impact on economic recovery.

It took the worst turn as the Dollar increased in value against major currencies, further putting pressure on the crypto market, ahead of some key central bank decisions throughout the week, including the Federal Reserve Bank.

Ethereum (ETH) plunged by 11.9 per cent to sell at N1,930,003.03, Cardano (ADA) declined by 7.1 per cent to sell at N754.77, Litecoin (LTC) took a 6.7 per cent hit to trade at N82,593.65, while Binance Coin (BNB) lost 6.1 per cent to trade at N214,980.02.

In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) made a 5.1 per cent loss to sell at N26,900,630.65, Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 5.0 per cent to finish at N93.24, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.2 per cent to N465.03, Tron (TRX) fell by 3.6 per cent to sell at N51.35, while Dash (DASH) declined by 3.6 per cent to trade at N75,665.10.

However, the United States Dollar Tether (USDT) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to sell at N573.55.