Naira Trades N1,390/$1 at Parallel Market, N1,335/$1 at Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was another wonderful day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign market (FX) market on Tuesday, February 17, as it appreciated against the United States Dollar at the close of business.

In the parallel market, it improved its value on the greenback by N30 to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N1,420/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it gained N4 to trade at N1,363/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,367/$1.

As for the official market, which is known as the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the local currency gained N11.82 or 0.88 per cent to close at N1,335.96/$1 versus Monday’s price of N1,347.78/$1.

In the same segment of the market, the domestic currency chalked up N32.43 against the Pound Sterling to finish at N1,806.75/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,839.18/£1, and gained N18.82 on the Euro to close at N1,579.24/€1 compared with the N1,598.06/€1 it was traded a day earlier.

Improved foreign exchange supply levels following recent high demand pressures helped to sustain the currency’s advance. A portion of the delayed demand was eliminated with licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) businesses fully helping to alleviate any development.

While other supply sources, including exporters, non-bank corporations, and other market actors, pause stoked pressures on the exchange rate, their presence is anticipated to increase liquidity and flow.

Foreign reserves were last reported at $47.80 billion after appreciating by $135.75 million. The build-up in reserves has been supported by favourable external conditions, including stronger oil-related inflows and improved FX market stability.

The market is looking forward to a rate cut when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets next week after inflation decelerated further to 15.10 per cent.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was down as software stocks continued to plunge, creating a ripple effect on the digital assets.

Market analysts noted that consolidation is expected as crypto searches for a new narrative strong enough to pull capital back from AI stocks and commodities.

Litecoin (LTC) declined by 1.8 per cent to $53.99, Bitcoin decreased by 1.7 per cent to $67,446.46, Cardano (ADA) dropped 1.5 per cent to trade at $0.2810, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 1.4 per cent to $617.60, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $84.97, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 0.7 per cent to $1.47, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.04 per cent to $0.1005.

On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $1,992.22, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.