Naira Gains Against Dollar as Cryptos Rise Amid US Inflation Data

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the Dollar on Tuesday at the Peer-2-Peer (P2P), the Investors and Exporters (I&E), and the black market windows of the foreign exchange (forex) market.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira gained N1 against the US Dollar during the session to settle at N745/$1 compared with Monday’s exchange rate of N746/$1.

Similarly, in the P2P segment, the local currency was fortified against the greenback by N1 to close at N753/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s value of N754/$1.

In the same vein, the domestic currency was strengthened against its American counterpart in the I&E window or the spot market by 25 Kobo or 0.05 per cent to trade at N461.42/$1 versus Monday’s N461.67/$1.

Business Post observed that the Naira withstood the heavy FX demand pressure it came under on Tuesday, as data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the turnover surged by 46.11 per cent or $35.80 million to $113.44 million from $77.64 million.

However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the interbank segment yesterday by N4.18 to close at N561.67/£1 versus Monday’s N557.49/£1 and lost N2.06 against the Euro to settle at N494.65/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N492.59/€1.

As for the digital currency market, the bulls maintained their grip after the release of the February Consumer Price Index in the US showed a drop in inflation to 6 per cent from the previous month’s reading of 6.4 per cent.

Also, investors believed that the potential risk of contagion from the closure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank had been contained.

Consequently, Bitcoin (BTC) moved up by 1.9 per cent to $24,943.32, as Ethereum (ETH) rose 1.8 per cent to $1,713.67, with Solana (SOL) climbing higher by 5.5 per cent to $21.47.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) improved by 5.2 per cent to $85.38, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.0760, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 2.4 per cent to $313.69, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 1.7 per cent to $0.3769, and Cardano (ADA) increased its value by 1.1 per cent to $0.3475, while Binance USD (BUSD) and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.