Naira Gains 0.12% at Official Forex Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, November 6, reversing the loss from the preceding session.

During the trading day, it gained N1.75 or 0.12 per cent on the greenback to close at N1,436.74/$1 compared with the N1,438.49/$1 it was sold in the previous session.

However, the Nigerian Naira extended losses against the Pound Sterling, but appreciated against the Euro in the official forex market on Thursday, losing N8.78 against the British currency to trade at N1,882.56/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,873.78/£1 and improved its value against the Euro by N6.32 to settle at N1,651.39/€1, in contrast to the N1,657.71/€1 it was exchanged in the previous session.

The domestic currency maintained stability against the Dollar at GTBank yesterday at N1,446/$1 and closed flat in the parallel market at N1,450/$1.

The Naira reversed its trend as its $2.35 billion Eurobond was oversubscribed by 477 per cent as investors took advantage of signals like falling interest rates, moderating inflation, and fiscal reforms.

The domestic currency is projected to trade stronger, with the $13 billion Eurobond raises providing additional support for the local currency outlook, which come as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to intervene in the market and potency of the threats from the US government wanes.

“We expect market stability to depend on global oil prices, continued CBN FX interventions, and overall investor sentiment—particularly the Federal Government’s response to President Trump’s comments on attacks in Nigeria and his threats of possible military action or aid suspension.

“However, strong external reserves and expectations of sustained high crude oil prices are also expected to provide additional support to the Naira,” AIICO Capital Limited said in a report.

In the cryptocurrency market, there were sell-offs as macroeconomic concerns continued to impact tokens led by Ripple (XRP) which lost 4.3 per cent to close at $2.22, followed by Bitcoin (BTC), which fell by 1.5 per cent to $101,829.00, and Solana (SOL), which depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $156.92, with Ethereum (ETH) down by 1.2 per cent to $3,346.96.

However, Litecoin (LTC) gained 2.7 per cent to sell at $89.46, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $964.67, Cardano (ADA) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.5422, and Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 1.2 per cent to $0.1656, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained at $1.00 each.