Naira Crashes to N486/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a bad day for the Naira at the black market on Monday as it depreciated by N1 against the United States Dollar to sell at N486/$1 versus N485/$1 it traded last Friday.

At the same unregulated segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market, the local currency also lost N1 against the Pound Sterling yesterday to close at N686/£1 in contrast to N685/£1 it traded at the previous trading day but closed flat against the Euro at N587/€1.

However, despite a demand pressure, the domestic currency finished stronger against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&) window on Monday.

At the close of business, the Nigerian Naira appreciated by 75 kobo or 0.18 per cent to close at N411.25/$1 compared with the previous day’s N412/$1.

Data harvested by Business Post from FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the turnover for the session rose by $122.14 million or 136.1 per cent to $211.86 million from $89.72 million recorded last Friday.

Over the weekend, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON) had raised an alarm about the pressure facing the local currency, noting that this was due to the activity of currency speculators hoarding the greenback.

The currency dealers body then gave an assurance that it was working with the country’s central bank to deepen market liquidity and protect the Naira against speculators.

Bulls Return to Cryptocurrency Market

At the cryptocurrency market on Monday, there was a sigh of relief as the digital assets are recovering from the recent authoritative actions on the trading and use of cryptocurrencies.

Last week, the market plunged after China threatened a heavy-handed approach to digital coins.

The warnings came shortly after the US Treasury Department said it was pushing for new regulations that would force new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) disclosures around crypto transactions.

But after the storm, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 9.6 per cent to sell at N19,323,590.60, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 21.9 per cent to trade at N1,304,903.69, while Ripple (XRP) gained 16.5 per cent to quote at N500.96.

Also, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 28.5 per cent to sell at 91,005.04, Tron (TRX) improved by 9.4 per cent to trade at N39.01, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) moved up by 0.1 per cent to N500.21.

However, Dash (DASH) fell by 9.4 per cent to sell for N90,503.20.