Naira Sells N1020/$1 at Peer-to-Peer as Cardoso Gets Senate Nod

By Adedapo Adesanya

The confirmation of the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, and four deputies, generated mixed reactions in the foreign exchange (forex) market on Tuesday.

Business Post reports that while it did magic in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, it could not replicate this in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the black market segments.

After his confirmation on Tuesday, the new CBN governor said the immediate plan to stabilise the Naira would be for the apex bank to settle some financial obligations and make “transparent rules”.

“Number one is what I will term an operational issue. Right now, we have a situation where we are aware that there are unsettled obligations by the CBN,” Mr Cardoso said.

In the spot market, the Naira was strengthened against the United States Dollar during the session by 2.35 per cent or N18.17 to sell at N755.08/$1 compared with Monday’s value of N773.25/$1.

Data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the supply of FX into the official market increased by 112 per cent or $71.84 million to $135.98 million from the preceding day’s $64.14 million.

In the P2P, the domestic currency weakened against its American counterpart by N15 yesterday to quote at N1,021/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,006/$1.

In the parallel market, the Nigerian currency lost N6 against the greenback on Tuesday to trade at N999/$1 versus the previous day’s exchange rate of N993/$1.

The local currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N23.25 to trade at N948.10/£1 compared with the previously traded rate of N924.85/£1. However, it gained N5.16 against the Euro to close at N824.38/€1, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N829.54/€1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market saw Bitcoin (BTC) back in the downward trajectory after it shed 0.3 per cent to $26,248.18, as Ethereum (ETH) fell by 0.1 per cent to $1,591.64.

Further, Solana (SOL) lost 2.2 per cent to close at $18.95, Litecoin (LTC) dropped 1.2 per cent to trade at $63.80, Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 0.6 per cent to $0.0606, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 0.4 per cent depreciation to finish at $0.5004, Cardano (ADA) went down by 0.2 per cent to $0.2455, and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) slumped by 0.04 cent to $0.9994.

However, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.7 per cent to $212.93, and Binance USD (BUSD) closed flat at $1.00.