Official Exchange Rate Now N464.42/$1 As Customers Bid As High As N632/$1

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, May 23, hitting a fresh low, a few days before the new administration takes over the rein of power from President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to data obtained by Business Post from FMDQ Securities Exchange, where data of the official exchange rate is tracked, the Naira lost 92 Kobo or 0.20 per cent during the session to close at N464.42/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s value of N463.50/$1.

It was observed that during the trading day, customers in the spot market bid the currency as low as N460.00/$1 and as high as N632.00/$1 amid serious concerns of a possible devaluation before the next government assumes office.

This is already pushing the demand for forex higher, as reflected in the value of transactions recorded in the I&E market segment on Tuesday.

The turnover for the day stood at $215.91 million, 102.1 per cent or $109.07 million higher than the $106.84 million reported in the preceding session.

In the black market, the domestic currency also depreciated against its American counterpart on Tuesday by N3 to settle at N760/$1 compared with Monday’s exchange rate of N757/$1.

But in the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) window, the local currency appreciated against the greenback by N1 to close at N769/$1 versus the N770/$1 it was sold a day earlier.

In the interbank segment, the Naira lost 61 Kobo against the Pound Sterling to finish at N574.99/£1 versus its previous rate of N574.38/£1 and against the Euro, it fell by 29 Kobo to trade at N499.24/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s N498.95/€1.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) added 2.1 per cent to sell at $27,240.97, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 2.1 per cent to $1,855.95, Solana (SOL) rose by 2.2 per cent to $20.08, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 1.1 per cent to $313.54, Ripple (XRP) gained 0.9 per cent to $04652, and Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.5 per cent to $0.3717.

On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.0728, and Litecoin (LTC) went south by 0.1 per cent to trade at $90.91, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.