Economy
Naira Weakens to N1,551 Per Dollar at Official Market,
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated by N11.89 or 0.77 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, June 13 to to N1,551.85/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,539.96/$1.
It was the first decline the Nigerian currency was suffering against the greenback in the official market in some trading session.
It came at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it defended the local currency with about $580 million last month, amid inflows of forex from other sources, including exporters’ supply.
Some international oil companies’ Dollar flows also added strength to average daily FX inflows, while the CBN played a key role in directing the spot rate with forex intervention.
Also, the domestic currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the spot market yesterday by N16.28 to close at N2,100.30/£1 compared with the N2,084.02/£1 it was traded on Wednesday and crashed against the Euro by N21.58 to settle at N1,788.26/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s N1,766.68/€1.
However, at the black market, the Naira closed flat against the Dollar yesterday at N1,610/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, the bulls took charge, amid recent jitters on escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Reports about fresh wave of airstrikes targeting Iran sent coins lower.
Despite the gains, market participants will likely remain cautious throughout the weekend amid heightened geopolitical risks.
Litecoin (LTC) gained 3.1 per cent to sell at $86.48, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.9 per cent to $2.16, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.5 per cent to close at $0.1769, and Solana (SOL) rose by 0.9 per cent to finish at $146.43.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) increased by 0.5 per cent to $2,541.25, Bitcoin (BTC) went up by 0.4 per cent to $105,155.54, and Cardano (ADA) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $0.6377, while Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.3 per cent to quote at $652.30, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) trading flat at $1.00 each.
