Naira Trades N1,442/$1 at Official Market, N1,460/$1 at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Nigerian Naira further improved against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), also known as the official market, on Wednesday, November 26.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency appreciated against the greenback at midweek by N3.40 or 0.24 per cent to close at N1,442.92/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,446.32/$1.

Also, the Naira gained 17 Kobo against the Euro in the same spot market during the trading session to quote at N1,670.90/€1, in contrast to the previous session’s closing price of N1,671.07/€1, but against the Pound Sterling, it lost N4.34 to finish at N1,906.53/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N1,902.19/£1.

At the black market, Nigeria’s legal tender maintained stability against its American counterpart at N1,460/$1 but improved its value at the GTBank FX counter by N6 to trade at N1,446/$1 versus the previous session’s N1,455/$1.

The market optimism revolves around renewed support by the central bank, which said the country was in a favourable position with its $46.7 billion external reserves, boosted by rising non-oil exports, improved oil production, higher remittances, and increasing portfolio investment.

A good external reserve position will allow Nigeria to meet its international obligations and intervene in the FX market when necessary.

The positive exchange rate movement was driven by improved inflows from Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), AIICO Capital Limited said in a commentary note. FX inflows into the official market has been on the decline, and this forced the CBN to action last week.

At the cryptocurrency market, benchmarked coins rebounded as December rate cut odds rose. Analysts noted that traders remain focused on macro signals, particularly growing expectations for a rate cut by the US central bank.

CME’s Group’s FedWatch indicates a 85 per cent chance that the Federal Resere would announce a rate cut.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed 3.9 per cent to $91,208.76, Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 3.8 per cent to $894.11, Solana (SOL) went up by 3.2 per cent to $143.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 2.9 per cent to $3,027.56, and Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 2.6 per cent to $0.4341.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 1.7 per cent to 86.56, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 1.4 per cent to finish at $0.1540, and Ripple (XRP) advanced by 0.5 per cent to $2.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.