Naira Stable Across FX Windows as Cryptos Retreat

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was stable against the US Dollar across the major segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday, July 26.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the local currency maintained its previous exchange rate against the greenback at the close of transactions at N411.50/$1 despite a marginal increase in the demand for FX at the window.

According to data obtained by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange yesterday, it was observed that the FX demand jumped during the session by 3.1 per cent or $4.21 million to $139.49 million from the previous session’s $135.28 million.

Also, at the interbank window, a similar outcome was recorded as the value of the local currency relative to the American currency remained intact at N411.15/$1.

The trend continued at the black market as the domestic currency recorded no movement against the Dollar on Monday to trade at N504/$1.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling and the Euro.

Against the British currency, the local currency was stronger by N2 as it closed at N703/£1 compared to the preceding session’s N705/£1 and against the Euro, it appreciated by N3 to close at N592/€1 in contrast to N595/€1 it finished at the previous session.

Cryptos Retreat after Earlier Surge in Value

There was a slight recovery in the cryptocurrency market after American retail giant, Amazon, said it was looking to add a digital currency and blockchain expert to its payments team, suggesting it could be taking a closer look at Bitcoin and other cryptos.

But the gains gathered retreated after Amazon denied reports that it was planning to accept Bitcoin for payments this year.

Consequently, the Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 3.5 per cent to trade at N18,737,394.26, Ethereum (ETH) lost 0.3 per cent to sell at N1,165,899.00, Tron (TRX) dropped 0.9 per cent to sell for N30.23, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) fell by 0.5 per cent to sell for N517.48.

Despite the losses reported by the above coins, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to trade at N315.01, Dash (DASH) grew by 1.1 per cent to trade at N64,105.01, while Litecoin (LTC) rose by 2.2 per cent to trade at N64,105.01.