By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Naira strengthened against the US Dollar in the foreign exchange market (forex) on Wednesday, August 16, as the government took a step to stabilise the ecosystem.
Yesterday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited announced it had secured an emergency loan of $3 billion from the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). This credit facility would be repaid through the country’s crude oil.
This injection is expected to provide some immediate disbursement that will support the federal government in its “ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilising the exchange rate market,” according to state-owned oil company.
As a result, the local currency gained N14.91 or 1.90 per cent against its American counterpart in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) arm of the market in the midweek session to close at N759.86/$1 compared with the previous day’s N774.77/$1.
This occurred as the FX transactions at the official market depleted by 36.2 per cent or $34.65 million to $61.14 million from the $95.79 million reported on Tuesday.
Also, in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) window, the Naira appreciated against the greenback yesterday by N37 to trade at N887/$1 compared with the preceding day’s rate of N924/$1.
In the same vein, the domestic currency was strengthened against the greenback in the black market during the session by N50 to sell at N890/$1 compared with Tuesday’s exchange rate of N940/$1.
The local currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Wednesday by N21.21 to quote at N978.83/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,000.04/£1. It also appreciated against the Euro in the same market segment by N22.07 on Wednesday to finish at N836.99/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N859.06/€1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bearish yesterday as most digital coins monitored by Business Post were pressured by renewed banking sector concerns and China recession fears.
Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 1.7 per cent to $28,618.26, Ethereum (ETH) depleted by 1.3 per cent to $1,798.28, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 3.7 per cent to $0.068, and Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.7 per cent to $75.48.
Further, Ripple (XRP) lost 2.7 per cent to trade at $0.5897, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.5 per cent to $231.19, Cardano (ADA) decreased by 0.8 per cent to $0.277, and Solana (SOL) declined by 0.7 per cent to $23.26, while Binance USD (BUSD) and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere