By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira fell against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, July 1, 2024, by 0.25 per cent or N3.69 to exchange at N1,508.99/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,505.30/$1.
It was the first trading day in the second half of the year and the volatility that marred the first six months of 2024 persisted yesterday, and there are speculations that it will remain till the end of the year despite the policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to change the tide.
Data showed that the value of forex transactions during the session went down by 34.9 per cent or $65.51 million to $122.31 million from the $187.82 million recorded last Friday.
But the local currency traded flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the official FX market yesterday to sell for N1,859.10/£1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N1,573.79/€1.
The Nigerian Naira, however, appreciated against the Dollar in the parallel market on Monday by N15 to quote at N1,510/$1 versus the previous trading day’s value of N1,525/$1.
The digital currency market closed mixed during the session on weak demand and selling pressure from US investors, as Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating range-bound since March’s all-time highs. Investors have also grown concerned about outflows from the US-listed spot BTC exchange-traded funds.
Dogecoin (DOGE), the meme coin, lost 2.1 per cent to sell at $0.1238, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 1.2 per cent to trade at $578.82, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 0.8 per cent to $3,455.30, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 0.6 per cent to $74.67, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.5 per cent to finish at $62,989.79, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) shed 0.02 per cent to quote at $0.9998.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 2.3 per cent to $0.4007, Solana (SOL) jumped by 0.8 per cent to $148.97, Ripple (XRP) added 0.2 per cent in value to trade at $0.4791, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) gained 0.01 per cent to close at $0.9999.
Dipo Olowookere