Naira Appreciates at Parallel Market, P2P, Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar in the various segments of the foreign exchange (forex) on Thursday despite the current cash crunch not easing.

In the parallel market window of the market, the Nigerian Naira gained N3 against the greenback to settle at N765/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N768/$1.

Also, in the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) arm, the local currency appreciated against the American currency by N1 during the session to close at N770/$1 versus Wednesday’s value of N771/$1.

In the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, the domestic currency garnered 27 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the Dollar to close at N461.33/$1 compared with the midweek’s exchange rate of N461.60/$1.

It was observed that the demand for forex increased yesterday as the presidential election in Nigeria draws closer.

Data from FMDQ Securities Exchange surged by 34.6 per cent or $28.32 million to $110.27 million from the $81.95 million recorded a day earlier.

In the interbank window, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling by N1.76 to close at N555.06/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N557.82/£1, and against the Euro, the domestic currency gained N2.06 to quote at N489.01/€1 versus Wednesday’s N491.07/€1.

Meanwhile, in the digital currency market, the tokens traded downward as the ecosystem reacted to the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, which showed that the current policy would be maintained until further signs that inflation is “substantially” slowing.

Bitcoin (BTC) slumped 2.1 per cent to sell at $23,866.68, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.0 per cent to $1,648.13, Cardano (ADA) lost 2.4 per cent to trade at $0.3812, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 2.1 per cent loss to finish at $0.388, and Solana (SOL) shed 2.1 per cent to sell at $23.88.

In addition, Dogecoin (DOGE) shed 1.6 per cent to trade at $0.0844, Litecoin (LTC) dropped 1.3 per cent to quote at $94.07, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.1 per cent to $309.65, while the  United States Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) closed flat at $1.00 each.