Naira Gains 0.08% to Trade N1,346/$1 at Official FX Window

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated further by N1.14 or 0.08 per cent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, August 22, to trade at N1,346.49/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s exchange rate of N1,347.63/$1.

This came amid cooling demand for FX, as data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover slid by 132.8 per cent to $159.7 million from $371.8 million, with the number of deals down to 109 from 134.

Equally, the domestic currency gained N1.95 against the Pound Sterling in the official FX window yesterday to settle at N1,836.75/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,838.70/£1, and against the Euro, it chalked up N1.86 to quote at N1,573.11/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,574.97/€1.

Similarly, the local currency gained N3 against the greenback at the GTBank forex desk during the session to finish at N1,355/$1 compared with the N1,358/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier, but at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.

Traders expect the Naira to be ⁠broadly unchanged at the currency market in the coming days, buttressed by inflows from offshore investors.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market maintained its upward trajectory, with Bitcoin (BTC) up by 2.6 per cent to $77.488.22, amid optimism over US cryptocurrency legislation and the US Treasury’s surprise move to buy back more of its own bonds, which fuelled a shift to riskier assets.

The sharp rise came after US President Donald Trump urged lawmakers on Wednesday to pass the Clarity Act, a bill to spur cryptocurrency use that has stalled in the Senate, while the boost also came from the US Treasury’s bid to lower long-term borrowing costs by doubling its sovereign bond buybacks, a move that lifted investors’ risk appetite.

Ripple (XRP) grew by 19.5 per cent to $1.56, Cardano (ADA) added 11.1 per cent to trade at $0.2328, Dogecoin (DOGE) soared by 10.9 per cent to $0.0926, Solana (SOL) surged by 4.1 per cent to $93.95, Binance Coin (BNB) also improved by 4.1 per cent to $695.67, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 2.8 per cent to $2,435.15, and TRON (TRX) expanded by 2.2 per cent to $0.3455, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.