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 NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was weakened by 1.19 per cent on Thursday, July 9, by three bellwether stocks on the platform.
Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) lost 50.47 points to close at 4,199.73 compared with the previous day’s 4,250.20 points, and the market capitalisation gave up N30.29 billion to settle at N2.520 trillion versus Wednesday’s closing value of N2.551 trillion.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which fell by N20.54 to sell at N200.01 per share compared with the preceding session’s N220.55 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc crashed by N11.48 to trade at N140.51 per unit compared with the N151.98 per unit it ended a day earlier, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 19 Kobo to N1.80 per share from N1.99 per share.
Business Post reports that the sole gainer at the session was IPWA Plc, which added 88 Kobo to quote at N9.71 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s closing price of N8.83 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 14,965.4 per cent to 23.9 million units from the previous session’s 158,933 units, and the value of stocks rose by 528.1 per cent to N68.2 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, while the number of deals decreased by 3.2 per cent to 30 deals from Wednesday’s 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading day as 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.7 million units exchanged for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A slowdown in the demand for foreign exchange (FX) strengthened the value of the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, July 9.
At the official market, the Naira gained 64 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the greenback yesterday to sell at N1,378.43/$1 compared with Wednesday’s exchange rate of N1,379.07/$1.
The market saw a sharp decrease in transaction volume and value, meaning that heavy demand for the Dollar eased.
Interbank FX turnover reduced sharply by more than 62 per cent to $78.708 million, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from $208.094 million in the preceding day.
FX traders also noticed a sharp decline in the number of deals at the NFEM window in the absence of Dollar injection by the central bank. Deal counts shrank to 106 during the NFEM window, down from 150, reflecting a slowdown in FX activity among market makers.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the session by N6.18 to N1,846.82/£1 from N1,840.64/£1, and declined against the Euro by N2.79 to close at N1,576.09/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,573.30/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N4 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,381/$1 it was traded at midweek, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market soared after a moderation in oil prices and bond yields following the collapse of the Iran war ceasefire.
As has been the pattern for months, markets are looking past inflamed rhetoric and new airstrikes to likely conciliatory statements in the near future.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained 2.3 per cent to sell at $64,048.89, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.9 per cent to $0.0741, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $1,777.98, Solana (SOL) rose by 1.0 per cent to $79.13, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.10, Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.6 per cent to sell for $576.91, and TRON (TRX) also improved by 0.6 per cent to $0.3329.
However, Cardano (ADA) crashed by 0.9 per cent to $0.1669, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
Subscription for the July 2026 edition of the FGN savings bond is closing today, Friday, July 10.
The exercise started on Monday, July 6, with two tenures of two years and three years on offer to retail investors.
The retail bonds are sold by the federal government through the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise funds for the country’s budget deficits.
The savings bond offers investors steady tax-free income. It is risk-free, backed by the Nigerian government, and listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, allowing for secondary market trading and easy exit before maturity.
For the two-year FGN savings bond maturing on July 15, 2028, the debt office is offering it at a 14.716 per cent per annum interest rate, while the three-year FGN savings bond due July 15, 2029, is at 15.716 per cent per annum, with the interest on the investment being paid by the government every quarter.
Intending investors can purchase the debt instrument at a unit price of N1,000, subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50.0 million.
