By Adedapo Adesanya, Ahmed Rahma
The Naira could not extend its recent rally against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the local currency depreciated by 82 kobo or 0.21 per cent to trade at N394.17/$1 in contrast to the N393.35/$1 it was sold the previous day.
This poor outcome was triggered by an increase in the demand for forex at the market segment on Wednesday as traders exchanged $89.50 million, 47.2 per cent or $62.67 million higher than the preceding session’s $26.83 million.
However, stability was maintained at the black market as the value of the Naira remained unchanged against the greenback at the midweek session at N475/$1. Against the Pound Sterling, the local currency appreciated by N3 to sell at N645/£1 in contrast to N648/£1 of the earlier day, while at the same window, the domestic currency closed flat against the Euro at N580/€1.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window of the FX market, the Naira traded flat against the greenback at N395/$1 and at the interbank segment, it closed flat at N379/$1.
At the cryptocurrency market, traders had no smile on their faces on Wednesday as five out of the seven currencies tracked by Business Post on Quidax, a platform used for trading cryptocurrencies in Naira, recorded losses.
Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most popular token, lost 4.3 per cent to close at N16,414,324, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 4.8 per cent to settle at N69,498.40, Dash (DASH) went down by 7.8 per cent to sell at N56,977.01, Tron (TRX) lost 2.1 per cent to sell for N14.67, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) dropped 0.2 per cent to sell for N485.00.
But the Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to trade at N142.88.
Dipo Olowookere