Naira Records First Loss in Over One Week at Official Market, Now N1,582/$1

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped for the first time in over a week against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, August 13.

It lost 0.71 per cent or N11.10 against the greenback during the trading session to settle at N1,582.09/$1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N1,570.99/$1, according to data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

For the last week, the Naira has appreciated based on a supply boost run by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), fulfilling a promise to inject liquidity into the FX market to defend the local currency.

At the spot market yesterday, the FX turnover slightly went down by 18.3 per cent or $45.01 million to $201.43 million from the $246.44 million recorded a day earlier.

Also, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Tuesday by N13.77 to finish at N2,018.06/£1 compared with the previous trading session’s N2,004.29/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N10.1 to settle at N1,724.59/€1, in contrast to Monday’s closing value of N1,714.49/€1.

A look at the black market showed that the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar yesterday at N1,595/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Tuesday, with Bitcoin (BTC) recovering above the critical $60,000 mark after a sharp sell-off in August, gaining 2.8 per cent to close at $60,906.90.

The market has found support from the US economy, the world’s largest economy, as it remains resilient, with jobless claims dropping and wholesale inventories rising, supporting growth and bolstering economic activity.

Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 2.7 per cent to $63.89, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 2.6 per cent to sell at $2,727.85, Ripple (XRP) added 2.3 per cent to trade at $0.5792, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 1.4 per cent to $526.97, Cardano (ADA) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.3408, and Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.7 per cent to $0.1059.

But Solana (SOL) lost 0.8 per cent to finish at $144.76, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.