Naira Slumps to N1,536/$1 at Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further depreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, August 20 by N1.25 or 0.08 per cent to N1,536.18/$1 from the preceding day’s N1,534.93/$1.

This happened as FX pressure continued to grip the market as the Central Bank of Nigeria has held back from making any direct interventions so far this week.

Market analysts noted that this is due to the currency trading within the expected range (N1,530-N,540/$!1) as the apex bank expects that its recent moves will give enough support ahead of peak seasonal demand.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N1.71 yesterday to close at N2,071.98/£1 compared with the previous day’s N2,073.69/£1 but lost 71 Kobo against the Euro to close at N1,792.75/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,792.04/€1.

As for the parallel market, the value of the Nigerian Naira against the Dollar remained unchanged during the trading session.

In the cryptocurrency market, most of the tokens tracked rebounded despite a weakening risk appetite in broader capital markets.

Analysts noted that an altcoin (other digital currencies that is not Bitcoin) season could be brewing, which could be more selective than past cycles.

Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated on Wednesday by 4.9 per cent to sell at $0.2228, Solana (SOL) recorded a 3.7 per cent appreciation to sell at $186.97, Ethereum (ETH) went up by 3.4 per cent to close at $4,297.33, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.2 per cent to finish at $861.19.

Further, Cardano (ADA) jumped during the midweek session by 2.8 per cent to quote at $0.8741, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.9 per cent to settle at $115.87, Ripple (XRP) recorded a 1.2 per cent growth of end at $2.92, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 0.2 per cent to finish at $113,750.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.