Economy
Naira Depreciates at BDC Segment as CBN Resumes Weekly FX Sales
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira further depreciated against the US Dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Thursday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it will resume the suspended weekly forex sales to operators from Monday, August 31.
In a circular signed by the Director of Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, Mr O.S. Nnaji, it was stated that BDCs must not exchange the naira at more than N386/$.
The apex bank said the decision to resume sales of the foreign currency to BDCs is to allow travellers to get forex as the country prepares to resume international flights from next week.
The federal government had announced yesterday that international flights will resume on September 5 instead of the initially announced August 29.
Providing a breakdown of the rates, the CBN said: “Please be advised that the applicable exchange rate for the disbursements of proceeds of IMTOs for the period Monday, August 31 to Friday, September 04, 2020, is as follows:
IMTSOs to banks: N382/$1; Banks to CBN: N383/$1; CBN to BDCs: N384/$1; and BDCs to end-users: Not more than N386 volume of sale to each market is $10,000 per BDC.
The apex bank said FX sales to BDCs will hold on Mondays and Wednesdays in the first instance.
A look at the performance of the Naira against the US Dollar at the BDC window yesterday, according to data gathered by Business Post from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators (ABCON), showed that the local currency dropped against the greenback across the four major locations tracked.
At the Lagos BDC market, the domestic currency depreciated by 40 kobo against the Dollar to sell for N477/$1 as against the previous rate of N476.60/$1, while it appreciated by N1 against the Pound to close at N617/£1 versus N618/£1 and closed flat on the Euro at N552/€1.
In Abuja, the local currency weakened against the US Dollar by N2 to N477/$1 from N475/$1 and remained unchanged against the Pound at N620/£1 and as well traded flat against the Euro at N555/€1.
At the Port Harcourt market, the Naira lost 50 kobo against the greenback to close at N476/$1 in contrast to N475.50/$1 it previously closed but appreciated by N2 on the Pound to N612/£1 from N614/£1 and closed flat against the Euro at N553/€1.
At the Kano BDC market, the local currency depreciated by N2 against the American currency to quote at N477/$1 as against N475/$1 on Wednesday and fell by N13 against the Pound to N608/£1 from N595/£1 while on the Euro, it lost N4 to trade at N552/€1 versus N548/€1.
At another segment of the market, the Investors and Exporters (I&E), the Naira gained 25 kobo against the greenback to close at N385.75/$1 in contrast to N386/$1 a day before.
At the close of the session, investors exchanged a total of $43.16 million compared to the previous session’s $14.47 million, indicating a day-on-day rise of 198.3 per cent or $28.69 million.
At the black market, the local currency remained stable against the American currency at N477/$1. It, however, lost N3 each on the Pound and the Euro to close at N615/£1 and N555/€1 from N612/£1 and N552/€1 respectively.
At the interbank window yesterday, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate remained at N379/$1.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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