Naira Further Falls to N475/$1 at Unregulated Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira closed weaker again on Monday against the US Dollar at the unregulated segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday.

At the first trading session of the new week, the local currency lost N3 against its American counterpart to close at N475/$1 compared to the previous rate of N472/$1, giving a fair warning that the Nigerian currency may experience some pressures in the coming days.

At the same black market yesterday, the domestic currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N5 to wrap the day at N635/£1 in contrast to N630/£1 it was sold earlier and fell by N7 against the Euro at the session to close at N582/€1 versus N575/€1.

However, there was a respite for the Naira at the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window on Monday as it appreciated against the greenback by 17 kobo or 0.04 per cent to close at N393.33/$1 compared with N393.50/$1 it was sold the preceding session.

Business Post observed that the Nigerian currency was able to gather strength against the US Dollar at the investors’ window because of the less pressure on it.

During trading yesterday, the turnover reduced by 5.9 per cent or $3.9 million to $61.73 million from the previous session’s $65.63 million.

But at the interbank window of the FX market on Monday, the exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar remained stable at N379/$1.

Also, at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the market, the Naira further maintained stability against the greenback yesterday, trading at N395/$1, according to data from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).

Meanwhile, it was a negative outcome for cryptocurrencies on Monday as most of the digital tokens tracked by Business Post dipped.

The Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 7.3 per cent to trade at N16,343,802.39, Litecoin dipped by 17.1 per cent to sell for N65,415.02, Ethereum (ETH) lost 11.4 per cent to close at N512,201.02, while Dash (DASH) crashed by 11.3 per cent to sell at N59,000.

In addition, the Ripple (RPX) depreciated by 3.9 per cent to sell at N139.24, the US Dollar Tether (USDT) fell by 0.1 per cent to end at N488.41, while Tron (TRX) dropped 12.2 per cent to trade at N13.67.