Naira Value Strengthens at NAFEM, Falls at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) on Thursday, January 18 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pledged to continue clearing outstanding foreign exchange (FX) liabilities.

In the official market, the local currency was strengthened against the Dollar by 3.1 per cent or N39.83 to settle at N902.08/$1 compared with the previous day’s N931.23/$1.

Also, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the spot market yesterday by N4.86 to sell at N1,128.15/£1 versus the preceding trading session’s N1,133.01/£1 and against the Euro, it chalked up N5.40 to close at N967.67/€1, in contrast to the midweek session’s N973.16/€1.

The value of forex transactions during the trading session significantly rose by 155 per cent or $176.53 million to $176.53 million from the $69.22 million a day earlier.

The apex bank has paid up to $2 billion so far to pivotal sectors in the country, including manufacturing, aviation, and petroleum, according to Mrs Hakama Ali, the acting director of the CBN’s Corporate Communications Department.

The intervention covers the complete clearance of liabilities for 14 banks and the initiation of settlements with foreign airlines.

But this has not eased tensions in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) window of the forex market as the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback on Thursday by N26 to sell at N1,347/$1 compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N1,321/$1.

In the black market, the Naira further weakened against the US Dollar yesterday by N20 to settle at N1,340/$1, in contrast to the N1,320/$1 it was exchanged in the previous trading day.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin fell to the lowest price level since the US approved exchange-traded funds (ETFs), shedding 3.7 per cent during the session to sell at $41,153.58.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.6 per cent to $2,461.42, Solana (SOL) fell by 6.2 per cent to $93,89, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 4.8 per cent to $0.4963, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.5 per cent to $0.0777, and Ripple (XRP) slumped by 2.9 per cent to trade at $0.5505.

However, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.7 per cent to trade at $311.73, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded at $1.00 apiece.