Economy
Naira Crashes to N1,495/$1 at Official Market, N1,610/$1 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira witnessed a decline of 1.4 per cent or N20.82 on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, February 3, closing at N1,495.60/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing price of N1,474.78/$1.
However, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N38.92 to trade at N1,832.40/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,871.32/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N34.78 to sell for N1,532.03/€1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s rate of N1,566.81/€1.
A look at the black market showed that the Nigerian Naira lost N10 against the Dollar on the first trading session of the week to quote at N1,610/$1 versus the preceding session’s value of N1,600/$1.
The pressure on the local currency came as the access granted to Bureau de Change operators (BDCs) on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s s-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform was extended after it elapsed last month.
This extension was disclosed in a circular issued on Monday by the Trade and Exchange Department of the apex bank, allowing BDCs to continue purchasing forex from authorised dealers under existing conditions.
The circular, referenced TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/003 and signed by Dr W. J. Kanya, the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, referred to an earlier directive TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/030 issued on December 19, 2024.
The previous circular had granted temporary access to existing BDCs to source foreign exchange from authorised dealers, with a weekly cap of $25,000.
Initially set to expire on January 31, 2025, the directive has now been extended for another four months, until May 30, 2025.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed as the President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Monday charging the Treasury and Commerce Departments with creating a sovereign wealth fund.
While Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed at least cautious interest in crypto, Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick has been a loud champion for the sector.
Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration and with the sovereign wealth fund to be created in the next 12 months, it could potentially be a vehicle through which the government might buy and hold the crypto.
Just over the weekend, the president ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife Melania.
Yesterday, the price of Solana (SOL) jumped by 6.2 per cent to $256.26, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 5.1 per cent to $101,780.47, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 5.0 per cent to $0.2836, and Ripple (XRP) rose by 4.3 per cent to $2.71.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 5.5 per cent to $2,747.58, Litecoin (LTC) fell by 2.1 per cent to $106.82, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.4 per cent to $607.73, and Cardano (ADA) crumbled by 0.3 per cent to $0.7989, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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