Naira Appreciates to N1,505/$1 at NAFEX, Down to N1,525/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 0.32 per cent or N4.80 on Friday, June 28, closing at N1,505.30/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,590.10/$1.

It was the first time the domestic currency was recording its first gain in almost two weeks after the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, said during the week that the days of excessive Naira volatility were over, highlighting the positive impact of the monetary policy tools employed by the apex bank to tackle the challenges facing the forex market.

He said the bank was relatively pleased with the progress it has made in stabilising the Naira and would encourage measures to drive down the rates, adding that the worst was over for the Naira’s fluctuations.

Mr Cardoso said this stems from the CBN’s multi-pronged approach to stabilizing the local currency noting that before the recent interventions, speculation and manipulation in the FX forward contract market were contributing to Naira volatility.

Regardless of his optimism, the supply of foreign exchange (FX) in the spot market shrank yesterday by 34.6 per cent or $99.39 million or 34.6 per cent to $187.82 million from the $287.21 million recorded a day earlier.

The Naira also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N47.28 to sell at N1,859.10/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,906.38/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N36.18 to quote at N1,573.79/€1 versus Thursday’s rate of N1,609.97/€1.

However, in the black market, the Nigerian currency lost N5 against the greenback on Friday to close at N1,525/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,520/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, it was all about profit-taking, with Solana (SOL) down by 2.6 per cent to sell at $140.70, and Ethereum (ETH) losing 1.9 per cent to trade at $3,379.37.

Further, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 1.8 per cent to finish at $568.27, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 1.6 per cent to $0.1232, Bitcoin (BTC) depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $60,692.77, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.5 per cent to settle at $0.4738, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) dropped 0.03 per cent to end at $0.9985.

Meanwhile, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.3945, and Litecoin (LTC) went up by 0.9 per cent to $73.59, while US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00.