Economy
Naira Appreciates After CBN Rules Out Devaluation
By Adedapo Adesanya
Calm return to the foreign exchange market in Nigeria on Friday after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday said it was not going to devalue the Naira as earlier being feared in some quarters.
This made the local currency to retreat to N380/$1 at the parallel market yesterday, after the value depreciated to N400/$1 at the black market due to panic demand for forex. This consequently made dealers to hoard the ones with them.
However, the local currency depreciated by N2 against the Euro at the same market segment, selling on Friday at N416/€1 instead of the N414/€1 it was traded on Thursday. But the domestic currency maintained stability against the Pound Sterling at N490/£1.
Business Post observed that the assurance from the CBN about the devaluation rumour boosted the confidence of investors at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market yesterday.
Data from FMDQ showed that the Nigerian currency appreciated by N5.53k or 1.48 percent against the US Dollar to close at N368.47/$1 compared with N374/$1 it traded at the previous session.
The value of transactions at the I&E window significantly increased during the session as transactions worth $1.03 billion were carried out in contrast to $156.42 billion achieved on Thursday, representing an increasse by 5, 578 percent or $872.58 million.
In the statement issued by spokesman of the banking industry regulator in Nigeria, Mr Isaac Okorafor, it was stressed that, “The Central Bank of Nigeria wishes to note with displeasure, the rumours and speculative activities of unscrupulous players in the foreign exchange market, borne out of the impression that the CBN is on the verge of devaluing the Naira, and triggering panic in the FX Market.”
At the interbank segment of the market, which is the government’s exchange rate, the Naira remained flat at N306.95/$1.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment in Lagos, the Naira gained N12 to close at N370/$1 in contrast to N382/$1 it quoted the previous session. Against the Pound, the domestic currency remained unchanged at N490/£1, while it declined by N8 on the Euro to close at N416/€1 compared with N408/€1 it was sold on Thursday.
In Abuja, the local currency appreciated by N2 against the greenback to N366/$1 from N368/$1. However, it depreciated against both the Euro by N6 to N424/€1 from N418/€1 and lost N1 on the Pound to close at N488/£1 in contrast to the previous rate of N487/£1.
In Port Harcourt, the local currency appreciated by N11 against the American currency to N370/$1 from N381/$1, and gained N13 against the British Pound to N476/£1 from N489/£1, while it appreciated by N63 on the Euro to N417/£1 from N480/€1.
In the city of Kano, the value of the Naira was strengthened against the Dollar by N13 to close at N367/$1 compared with N380/$1 it was traded the previous day. However, it closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro at N475/£1 and N417/€1 respectively.
In its statement on Thursday, the CBN warned against panic buying, noting that it has commenced investigations in collaboration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and related agencies to uncover the persons and FX dealers behind the panic calls.
“The CBN will invoke the full weight of applicable sanctions on any persons and authorised dealers found to be involved in such disruptive and speculative market behavior,” the CBN warned, maintaining the country has what it takes to defend the Naira.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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