Naira Crashes to N1,586/$1 at Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira fell further against the United States Dollar by 2.45 per cent or N37.95 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday to settle at N1,586.71/$1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,548.76/$1.

This was mainly driven by forex volatility in the system despite recent efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure liquidity through a series of auctions to official dealers and Bureau de Change (BDCs).

The high demand for FX and the inability to meet requests of customers have continued to pile pressure on the local currency.

Yesterday, the value of forex transactions in the official market depreciated by 39.1 per cent or $109.89 million to $171.03 million from the $280.92 million achieved a day earlier, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

The domestic currency, however, closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro at the spot market at midweek at N1,991.77/£1 and N1,673.02/€1, respectively.

A look at the black market showed that the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against its American counterpart on Wednesday to sell for N1,590/$1 compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N1,585/$1/$1.

Meanwhile, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 2.1 per cent to $0.605 as holders anxiously await a potential settlement that could reshape the landscape.

Ripple, which has been engaged in a regulatory tussle with the US Securities Exchange, could have its fate decided on Thursday, a move that has let investors bet on a resolution.

Also, Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.9 per cent to trade at $176.93, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each..

But Ethereum (ETH) slid by 4.3 per cent to $3,327.60 as hype around the launch of the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) eased after making over $1 billion on the first day.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 1.7 per cent to $71.22, Dogecoin (DOGE) decreased by 1.6 per cent to $0.1285, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.3 per cent to trade at $574.57, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.8 per cent to quote at $65,413.42, and Cardano (ADA) crashed by 0.3 per cent to $0.4095.