Naira Weakens Against US Dollar by 56 Kobo at Official Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira slid against the US Dollar by 56 Kobo or 0.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, September 16, to exchange at N1,329.86/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,329.30/$1.

Equally, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N3.06 to close at N1,789.19/£1 compared with Tuesday’s rate of N1,786.13/£1, and lost N4.90 on the Euro to sell at N1,534.26/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,529.36/€1.

But at the black market, it maintained stability against the Dollar at midweek at N1,370/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,336/$1.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that there was a decline in interbank FX transactions, with a significant decline in US Dollar volume and deals count among market makers.

The turnover fell by 65.9 per cent to $89.355 million from $262.10 million.

Market analysts maintain a bullish outlook for the local currency as gross external reserves continue to climb.

Latest data show Nigeria’s foreign reserves topped $54.6 billion on sustained FX inflows from across sources. The country’s gross external reserves outlook remains positive as global crude oil prices remain above $100 per barrel.

In the cryptocurrency market, coins rebounded after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point, a widely expected move that investors viewed as unlikely to begin an aggressive tightening cycle.

The US central bank raised its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent.

Higher rates make borrowing more expensive and can reduce the money available for speculative investments. They also increase the appeal of interest-paying cash and government debt relative to bitcoin, which pays no income simply for holding it.

Solana (SOL) increased by 3.2 per cent to $100.12, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 2.2 per cent to $2,448.73, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.9 per cent to $726.18, and Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.8 per cent to $0.1984.

In addition, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $0.0812, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 1.0 per cent to $76,537.64, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 0.9 per cent to $1.30, and TRON (TRX) went up by 0.2 per cent to $0.3355, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.