Economy
Naira to Trade N410/$1 at Interbank as FG Devalues Currency Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira is set to trade at N410/$1 at the interbank segment of the foreign exchange (forex) henceforth as the federal government is adopting a new flexible exchange rate policy for official transactions in a move that shows the local currency has been devalued for the third time within a year.
On Monday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the country will now start to use the Investors and Exporters (I&E) rate for government transactions too.
Yesterday, the I&E or NAFEX rate closed at N410.13/$1 compared to N410/$1 at the previous session, indicating a depreciation of 13 kobo or 0.03 per cent.
The NAFEX rate was introduced in 2017 as a way of wooing foreign investors without formally devaluing the currency but Dollar shortages from low crude revenues have led the country to devalue its currency more than once since March 2020.
According to Mrs Ahmed, “Within the government and the central bank, there is only one official rate and that’s the NAFEX rate.”
This means the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will no longer sell to commercial banks at N379/$1 it was quoted on Monday.
The adoption of the flexible-rate policy could assist discussions with the World Bank for a $1.5 billion loan that is partly conditional on currency reforms.
Meanwhile, transactions worth $25.88 million were recorded at the I&E market on Monday in contrast to $46.43 million last Friday, signifying a drop of $20.55 million or 44.3 per cent in the turnover.
At the parallel market, the Naira depreciated by N1 to sell at N486/$1 compared to N485/$1 it was traded at the preceding trading session, while against the Euro, it appreciated by N1 to sell at N582/€1 in contrast to N583/€1 of the previous session.
However, the domestic currency made no movement against the British Pound Sterling as it remained unchanged at N680/£1 on Monday.
At the cryptocurrency market, the outcomes were mixed as data obtained by Business Post showed that the Ripple (XRP), reeling on the back of news that court may rule that it is not a security but a currency, surged by 9.9 per cent to sell for N321.01.
Bitcoin (BTC) saw its value appreciate by 4.4 per cent to trade at 32,789,500; while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 12.2 per cent to trade at N599.98.
On the loser’s end, the Ethereum depreciated by 0.2 per cent to sell at N1,025,500; the Litecoin (LTC) lost 7.1 per cent to trade at N107,000; the Dash (DASH) depleted by 0.2 per cent to sell at N125,000; while the Tron (TRX) lost 1.3 per cent to sell at N35.40.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended the negative start to the week by 0.28 per cent on Tuesday, February 24, with the market capitalisation down by N6.64 billion to close at N2.378 trillion versus Monday’s N2.384 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) falling by 11.1 points to 3,974.80 points from 3,985.90 points.
At the session, transaction value skyrocketed by 1,706.3 per cent to N1.2 billion from the previous day’s N61.8 million, as the transaction volume increased by 59.1 per cent to 11.6 million units from 7.3 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 23.1 per cent to 48 deals from the preceding session’s 39 deals.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 33.7 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, Okitipupa Plc was next with 6.2 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc occupied the third position with 121.0 million units valued at N474.9 million.
Resourcery Plc emerged as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units worth N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with the sale of 121.0 million units for N474.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 33.7 million units worth N2.0 billion.
Yesterday, the market breadth was flat after the bourse finished with three price gainers and three price losers led by MRS Oil Plc, which shed N14.50 to close at N200.00 per share versus the previous day’s N214.50 per share, CSCS Plc depleted by N1.39 to N65.82 per unit from N67.21 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 1 Kobo to close at N3.30 per share versus Monday’s N3.31 per share.
The price gainers were led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which improved its value by N1.60 to close at N95.00 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N93.40 per unit, Afriland Property Plc gained 83 Kobo to sell at N18.00 per share versus N17.17 per share, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc advanced by 13 Kobo to N1.45 per unit from N1.32 per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.92 per cent on Tuesday after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) slashed the benchmark interest rate by 0.5 per cent to 26.50 per cent at the end of its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for 2026.
Sell-offs mainly occurred in the consumer goods and insurance sectors, shedding 4.74 per cent and 1.31 per cent, respectively.
However, bargain-hunting remained in the others, with the industrial goods index gaining 1.92 per cent, the banking counter grew by 1.23 per cent, and the energy sector soared by 0.15 per cent.
When the bourse ended for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 1,779.03 points to close at 194,484.52 points compared with the previous day’s 196,263.55 points, and the market capitalisation declined by N1.142 trillion to N124.827 trillion from N125.969 trillion.
DAAR Communications depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N2.25, Tantalizers also declined by 10.00 per cent to N4.86, BUA Foods shrank by 9.99 per cent to N760.60, Ellah Lakes slumped 9.96 per cent to N10.40, and Japaul lost 9.95 per cent to trade at N3.80.
Conversely, Jaiz Bank appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N12.76, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank went up by 9.83 per cent to N19.00, FCMB gained 9.72 per cent to close at N13.55, Fortis Global Insurance chalked up 9.09 per cent to finish at 72 Kobo, and Sterling Holdco grew by 7.50 per cent to N8.60.
A total of 27 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart and 40 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
Yesterday, investors bought and sold 1.1 billion equities worth N53.4 billion in 72,218 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities valued at N31.5 billion in 95,091 deals recorded a day earlier.
This showed that the value of transactions went up by 69.52 per cent, the volume of trades declined by 15.39 per cent, and a slip in the number of deals by 24.05 per cent.
During the session, Japaul was the most active stock with 102.4 million units worth N399.8 million, Access Holdings exchanged 97.9 million units valued at N2.6 billion, Fortis Global Insurance traded 75.2 million units for N54.1 million, Zenith Bank sold 67.6 million units valued at N6.2 billion, and FCMB transacted 46.4 million units worth N612.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The woes of the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) further continued on Tuesday, February 24.
During the session, the domestic currency weakened against the United States Dollar by N6.13 or 0.45 per cent to N1,355.37/$1 from the N1,349.24/$1 it was traded in the previous trading day.
The local currency also moved southwards on Tuesday in the same market window against the Pound Sterling after it lost N6.39 to trade at N1,828.26/£1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,821.87/£1, and against the Euro, it depreciated by N4.94 to close at N1,596.36/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,591.42/€1.
Similarly, the Naira crashed against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX counter yesterday by N4 to settle at N1,361/$1 versus the N1,357/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,365/$1.
The fall of the Naira coincided with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) buying US Dollars from the market to slow down the rapid rise of the nation’s legal tender. Latest information showed that last week, the apex bank bought about $189.80 million to reduce excess Dollar supply and control how fast the Naira was gaining value.
The rationale was to keep foreign investors from pulling their money out of Nigeria’s fixed-income market. If they sell their investments, it could increase demand for US Dollars and lead to more Dollar outflow from the economy.
Meanwhile, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the CBN, said Nigeria’s gross external reserves have risen to $50.45 billion – the highest level in 13 years, while speaking after the 304th meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the CBN held on February 23 and 24.
The committee also reduced interest rates by 50 basis points to 26.50 per cent from 27 per cent after inflation eased in January 2026.
As for the cryptocurrency market, losses on concerns by embattled software businesses that artificial intelligence (AI) tools will destroy their business models continued and overturned some rallies on Tuesday.
Binance Coin (BNB) lost 2.1 per cent to sell for $585.41, Cardano (ADA) dropped 1.8 per cent to trade at $0.2595, Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 1.5 per cent to $0.0920, Bitcoin (BTC) shrank by 1.2 per cent to $64,098.80, Litecoin (LTC) slipped 1.1 per cent to $51.31, Ripple (XRP) slumped 0.6 per cent to $1.35, and Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.4 per cent to $1,857.75.
However, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to sell at $78.95. while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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