The Naira continued its appreciation against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, April 14, by N12.42 or 0.92 per cent to close at N1,343.77/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,356.19/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency gained 58 Kobo against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the session to settle at N1,824.57/£1 versus Monday’s closing value of N1,825.15/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N2.18 to N1,585.51/€1 from N1,587.69/€1.
Similarly, the Naira strengthened its value against the US Dollar at the GTBank forex counter yesterday by N2 to quote at N1,371/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,373/$1, and at the black market, it improved by N5 to trade at N1,380/$1 compared with the N1,385/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.
Interbank liquidity increased sharply to N141.315 million across 175 deals, according to the FX update published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a 260 per cent surge from N38.256 million the previous day.
High FX inflows, boosted by foreign portfolio investors’ funds channelled into OMO bills, increased demand for Naira.
Credit rating agency, Fitch, projected that Nigeria’s FX reserves may fall to $47 billion over mounting fiscal pressures, predicting that Nigeria’s budget deficit could widen to nearly five per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The forecast comes amid continued reforms by the central bank aimed at stabilising the FX market, including measures to ease restrictions on the repatriation of oil export proceeds by international oil companies.
According to Fitch, these reforms have supported a “gradual normalisation” of the FX market and improved investor confidence, although structural weaknesses continue to weigh on the economy.
As for the cryptocurrency market, profit-taking by investors occurred amid signals of renewed US-Iran talks and growing expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year, which are projected to add liquidity and support risk assets, including digital currencies.
Optimism that the US and Iran will enter a second round of talks in the coming days has kept crude oil below $100 a barrel, easing the inflationary overhang that weighed on markets through March.
Solana (SOL) slumped by 3.1 per cent to $83.03, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 1.8 per cent to $2,318.70, Cardano (ADA) fell by 1.1 per cent to $0.2393, Ripple (XRP) dropped 0.7 per cent to $1.35, and Bitcoin (BTC) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $74,019.75.
However, TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.3232, Dogecoin (DOGE) added 0.3 per cent to trade at $0.0933, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 0.1 per cent to $613.93, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.