Naira Appreciates at Official Market, Stable at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by 0.68 per cent or N11.44 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, November 19 after being in the dungeon for three consecutive sessions.

At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the greenback to N1,678.93/$1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N1,690.37/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency performed well in the spot market during the session with a gain of N6.52 against the Pound Sterling to sell for N2,118.88/£1 versus the previous day’s value of N2,125.40/£1 and against the Euro, it firmed up by N5.30 to trade at N1,773.36/€1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,778.66/€1.

The sterling performance of the local currency at NAFEM on Tuesday happened despite the continued shortfall in FX supply as turnover slipped by 25.7 per cent or $44.55 million to $128.59 million from the $173.14 million achieved a day earlier.

In the black market segment, the Naira traded flat against the US Dollar yesterday at N1,740/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) soared to a record of $93,975 before closing at 0.5 per cent higher than the preceding day’s value at $92,113.84 at the close of business.

Adding fuel to the buzz is speculation that the US might consider building a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump has announced the nomination of Howard Lutnick, CEO of Wall Street giant Cantor Fitzgerald, as the next Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick, a seasoned financial executive, is recognized not only for his leadership in traditional finance but also for his progressive stance on cryptocurrencies.

He has expressed strong support for Bitcoin, describing it as a transformative asset that could reshape the global financial system.

Yesterday, Cardano (ADA) rose by 5.5 per cent to $0.7893.

On the flip side, Litecoin (LTC) lost 4.4 per cent to close at $84.79, Ripple (XRP) slid by 3.9 per cent to $1.08, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.0 per cent to $233.44, Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 1.3 per cent to $3,100.13, Binance Coin (BNB) waned by 1.2 per cent to $611.24, and Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped by 0.8 per cent to $0.3854, while the US Dollar Coin (USDC) and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) closed flat at $1.00 each.