Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed mixed on Monday, which was the first trading session of the week at the foreign exchange (forex) ahead of the two-day public holiday in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Naira, at the black market, closed stronger against the US Dollar by N3 to sell for N503/$1 compared with N506/$1 it traded last Friday.
It was observed that there was no rush for the hard currency on the streets yesterday and this contributed to the strengthening of the local currency against the greenback at the unregulated FX market window.
Also, at the parallel market, the domestic currency appreciated by N3 against the Pound Sterling on Monday to sell for N705/£1 in contrast to N708/£1 it was sold at the preceding trading day.
In the same vein, the Naira appreciated by N4 against the Euro yesterday at the same market segment to close at N592/€1 in contrast to N598/€1 of the preceding session.
However, the Naira performed badly against the American Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Monday, depreciating by N1.29 or 0.31 per cent to end the session at N411.67/$1 versus N410.38/$1 of the prior trading day.
Unlike at the black market, the local currency came under FX demand pressure at the investors’ window as the turnover for the day rose by $51.64 million or 44.3 per cent to $168.19 million from $116.55 million, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
But at the interbank segment, the Nigerian currency closed flat against the American Dollar at N410.13/$1 on Monday.
Sell-Off Persists in Crypto Market
At the cryptocurrency market, worries about the current global recovery amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases have weighed on digital assets, leading to sell-off from traders, coupled with a renewed crackdown in China on cryptocurrency trading and mining.
Major regions responsible for Bitcoin mining in China have forced operations to shut down. Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process that facilitates bitcoin transactions and creates new coins.
China’s central bank has also spoken to finance and fintech companies, reminding them not to offer crypto-related services to customers and this is having a ripple effect across other coins.
Yesterday, the Bitcoin (BTC) lost 6.2 per cent to close at N15,033,000.98, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 4.1 per cent to sell at N940,000.00, Ripple (XRP) dipped by 4.6 per cent to N280.00, Litecoin (LTC) crashed by 10.6 per cent to N53,101.00, while Tron (TRX) lost 3.5 per cent to sell at N27.99.
But the Dash (DASH) appreciated during the session by 18.1 per cent to N72,500, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) grew by 0.2 per cent to N517.97.
