By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar by 4.4 per cent or N67.96 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, March 20, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the complete clearance of the valid FX backlog.
Yesterday, the local currency was exchanged for the US Dollar at the rate of N1,492.61/$1, in contrast to the N1,560.57/$1 it was transacted on Tuesday.
Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, said the banking sector regulator fulfilled the promise to tackle an inherited $7 billion in claims, which was audited to have unverified $2.2 million.
The CBN, under the leadership of Mr Yemi Cardodo, also reported a remarkable boost in Nigeria’s external reserves, which increased by $993 million to $34.11 billion as of March 7, 2024, reaching an eight-month high.
This rise was fuelled by increased remittance payments from Nigerians abroad and heightened interest from foreign investors in local assets, including government debt securities.
This was reflected in the value of forex transactions recorded in the midweek, $268.29 million, higher than the $195.13 million achieved a day earlier by 37.5 per cent or $73.16 million.
However, the Naira weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Wednesday by N104.84 to trade at N1,985.38/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,880.54/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency lost N89 to sell for N1,696.54/€1 versus Tuesday’s rate of N1,607.54/€1.
A look at the exchange rate in the black market showed that the domestic currency appreciated against the Dollar during the session by N70 to quote at N1,510/$1 compared with the N1,580/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market recorded a largely bullish outcome on Wednesday, reversing early losses, as investors took a pause from the recent pullback and weighed the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.
Cryptocurrencies strengthened at the end of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, where the US central bank held rates steady, as expected, and said it still sees multiple rate cuts this year.
Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a value depreciation of 18.7 per cent to $0.1501, Solana (SOL) jumped by 12.4 per cent to $188.41, Ethereum (ETH) gained 11.2 per cent to trade at $3,489.06, and Cardano (ADA) went up by 8.3 per cent to $0.6332.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) recorded a 7.9 per cent rise to $66,663.19, Binance Coin (BNB) improved by 7.7 per cent to $549.22, Litecoin (LTC) surged by 7.6 per cent to $85.10, and Ripple (XRP) added 4.7 per cent to trade at $0.6067, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
Dipo Olowookere