Economy
Naira Shrinks Against Dollar at P2P, I&E, Parallel Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Naira weakened against the American Dollar across the foreign exchange (FX) market segments on Tuesday after the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the cash in circulation was about N1 trillion, assuring that the liquidity squeeze in the financial system would soon ease.
The value of the Naira closed lower yesterday against the greenback in the Peer-2-Peer (P2P), the Investors and Exporters (I&E), and the parallel market at the close of business.
In the I&E segment, the domestic currency lost 50 Kobo or 0.11 per cent against the US Dollar to settle at N462.00/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N461.50/$1.
This happened despite the spot market witnessing a sharp decline in the value of forex transactions by 50.13 per cent or $62.99 million to $62.67 million from the $125.66 million reported a day earlier.
In the P2P arm, the local currency fell against the American currency by N7 to quote at N755/$1 versus the N748/$1 it sold on Monday.
A look at the black market showed that the Naira tumbled against its United States counterpart by N3 yesterday to trade at N743/$1 compared with Monday’s exchange rate of N740/$1.
As for the interbank window, the Nigerian Naira shed N4.51 against the Pound Sterling during the session to sell at N563.66/£1 versus the previous day’s N559.15/£1, and against the Euro, it depreciated by N3.48 to settle at N493.59/€1, in contrast to N490.11/€1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) briefly moved back above $28,000 as markets await the upcoming US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Many expect that the Federal Reserve will maintain rate hikes, however, at a slower pace of 25 basis points. This comes after the US announced it would explore measures to guarantee client deposits at embattled banks following a recent crisis.
BTC rose by 1.4 per cent to sell at $28,305.68, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 3.6 per cent to $1,809.68, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 21.3 per cent to $0.4668, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 12.0 per cent to $0.3804, Dogecoin (DOGE) made a 6.1 per cent appreciation to finish at $0.0766, Litecoin (LTC) went up by 3.7 per cent to $82.00, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.8 per cent to $337.92, while Solana (SOL) lost 0.2 per cent to sell at $22.56, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) closing flat at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.36 per cent on Wednesday, August 19, slicing the market capitalisation of the platform by N9.41 billion to N2.60 trillion from N2.610 trillion, and reducing the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 15.67 points to 4,333.09 from 4,348.76 points.
The securities depository company lost N10.30 at midweek to close at N88.12 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N90.02 per share.
This offset the 38 Kobo gained by Golden Capital Plc during the session. The stock traded at N14.05 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N13.67 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities soared by 557.2 per cent to 747,429 units from 113,728 units, the value of securities jumped by 934.0 per cent to N9.4 million from N375.7 million, and the number of deals increased by 35.5 per cent to 42 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.9 million units worth N5.8 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
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.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Those who purchased the N40 billion bond issued by Geregu Power Plc in 2022 but did not receive payments last month as expected have reportedly now been paid by the energy company.
Geregu Power, listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, was in the news recently over the repayment default on July 28, 2026, triggering panic in the capital market.
Last week, the organisation admitted the issues caused by this default, but said, “Discussions and engagements are ongoing, and the company will continue to act in good faith in fulfilling its responsibilities.”
It further disclosed that “relevant stakeholders and advisers [are being actively engaged] regarding the resolution of the various challenges and is committed to achieving an orderly and mutually beneficial outcome.”
The latest information indicated that N6.03 billion owed investors under the firm’s N40.09 billion Series 1 Senior Unsecured Bond has been cleared.
This is expected to bring relief to investors, who may have feared the worst after the entity failed to meet its debt obligations when due.
However, on the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the status of the debt instrument remains as “credit default in the 8th coupon payment and 4th bullet principal repayment.”
As of the time of filing this report, Geregu Power has yet to confirm the clearing of the N6 billion debt.
