Economy
Naira Weakens to N1,338/$1 as FX Reserves Rise to $48.5bn
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar by N2.15 or 0.16 per cent to N1,338.11/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, February 18, compared with the previous day’s value of N1,335.96/$1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N10.27 against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday to trade at N1,817.02/£1 versus Tuesday’s price of N1,806.75/£1, and weakened against the Euro by N5.88 to sell for N1,585.12/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,579.24/€1.
However, at the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian currency Naira gained N16 against the Dollar yesterday to close at N1,347/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s N1,363/$1, and in the parallel market, it improved its value by N20 to quote at N1,370/$1 versus the previous day’s N1,390/$1.
The correction at the midweek session in the official market still put the exchange rate within a considerable range and could see the Naira strengthen yet again as Nigeria’s external reserves rose above $48.5 billion.
Fresh data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reinforced the improving liquidity backdrop. Its latest capital importation report for the third quarter of 2025 showed total capital inflows surged to $6.01 billion, the highest level in six years. The figure represents a 380.16 per cent year-on-year increase and a 17.46 per cent quarter-on-quarter rebound following a modest contraction in the second quarter of 2025.
The surge was largely driven by renewed investor interest in Nigeria’s fixed income market, according to analysts at Coronation Merchant Bank.
The market is also looking forward to a rate cut when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets next week after inflation decelerated further to 15.10 per cent.
As for the cryptocurrency market, benchmarked tokens were mostly in red as traders reacted to President Donald J. Trump’s claim that tariffs have slashed the US trade deficit by 78 per cent.
Investors are focused less on the accuracy of Trump’s trade figures and more on how renewed tariff talk could mean higher-for-longer interest rates, a stronger Dollar and pressure on risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
Ripple (XRP) slumped 4.3 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 3.6 per cent to $81.85, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined by 3.5 per cent to $0.0975, and Cardano (ADA) dropped 2.7 per cent to $0.2748.
Further, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 1.7 per cent to $53.99, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 1.3 per cent to $1,970.72, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 1.3 per cent to $608.29, and Bitcoin decreased by 1.1 per cent to $66,881.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at at $1.00 each.
