Naira Crashes to N1,482/$1 at Official Market, N1,490/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira weakened further, this time by 9.9 per cent or N133.95, against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, January 30 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made changes to pricing methodology at the FX market.

On Monday, the Naira fell by 51 per cent to a new low of N1,346 per/$1 in the official market segment and on Tuesday, the local currency crashed to a fresh low N1,482.57/$1.

The apex bank said the new move was aimed at addressing “recent fluctuations in the FX market and to ensure that rates accurately reflect market conditions while upholding price formation and transparency.”

However, the Naira gained N4.15 against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the trading session to close at N1,129.13/£1 compared N1,133.28/£1 and against the Euro, it appreciated by N7.65 to trade at N962.27/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N969.92/€1.

According to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange, the value of forex transactions at NAFEM yesterday slightly rose by $8.04 million or 12.5 per cent to $72.33 million from the $64.29 million achieved on Monday.

In the peer-to-peer (P2P) window of the FX market on Tuesday, the value of the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N15 to quote at N1,436/$1 compared with Monday’s value of N1,421/$1.

Also, in the parallel market segment, the domestic currency weakened against the American Dollar during the trading session by N40 to close at N1,490/$1 versus the preceding day’s rate of N1,450/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, the bears were on rampage, with Ripple (XRP) losing 4.8 per cent to trade at $0.5102, as Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 2.2 per cent to $0.0798, and Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.5157.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 1.5 per cent to $67.48, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 1.2 per cent to settle at $42,796.97, and Binance Coin (BNB) recorded a 1.1 per cent depreciation to end at $307.15.

However, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 1.2 per cent to $2,341.65, and Solana (SOL) grew by 0.1 per cent to $101.58, while the US Dollar Coin (USDC) and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) closed flat at $1.00 each.