Naira Loses N7.09, Closes N1,350/$1 at NAFEM

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira weakened by N7.09 or 0.53 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, August 19, to N1,350.41/$1 from the previous rate of N1,343.32/$1.

The local currency also significantly depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday, by N19.87, to close at N1,839.13/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,819.26/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N18.07 to end at N1,574.31/€1 versus Tuesday’s price of N1,556.24/€1.

However, at the black market, the Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank forex desk at N1,357/$1.

Interbank FX turnover increased by 1.72 per cent to $370.980 million from $364.709 million, according to the daily update by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

On the other hand, the number of interbank FX deals declined to 100, from 108 the previous day, reflecting a moderate slowdown in activities.

Available data from the central bank showed that demand for FX by end-users in Nigeria fell by 35.23 per cent to $3.42 billion in April 2026, easing pressure on the Dollar market as the Naira recorded modest gains.

This occurred as FX utilisation across economic sectors declined during the month, while the Naira strengthened at the official market. Across several sectors, including oil, food, and manufacturing, there were drops.

The monthly average exchange rate improved 1.38 per cent to N1,361.22 per Dollar in April from N1,379.98/$1 in March. At the end of the review month, the domestic currency closed at N1,374.94 per Dollar at NAFEM, compared with N1,386.72/$1 at the end of March.

In the cryptocurrency market, coins recorded massive jumps following the US Treasury’s decision to at least double bond buyback operations and was reinforced by a bond-market surge and President Donald Trump’s call for Congress to advance crypto market-structure legislation.

The American President urged Congress to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, calling for “a fair version” of the market structure bill that has been stuck in the Senate.

Ethereum (ETH) surged by 18.2 per cent to $2,261.93, Solana (SOL) rose by 11.4 per cent to $85.77, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 10.5 per cent to $1.10, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 8.6 per cent to $69,784.82, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $0.0751, Cardano (ADA) rose by 4.8 per cent to $0.1842, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 4.5 per cent to $628.45, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.1 per cent to $0.3330, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.