The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar ended at N1,372.31/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, May 21, indicating an appreciation of N1.03 or 0.07 per cent against the United States Dollar. In the preceding session, the rate closed at N1,373.34/$1, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Nigerian currency further improved its value against the Euro in the same market segment yesterday by N1.75 to settle at N1,590.78/€1 compared with midweek’s value of N1,592.53/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 26 Kobo, closing at N1,840.26/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s rate of N1,840.00/£1.
In the black market and at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1 and N1,379/$1, respectively.
It was gathered that interbank FX liquidity turnover for the session was $116.043 million across 105 deals, higher than the $68.020 million achieved a day earlier.
The central bank will continue with its current policy direction to sustain the fight against inflation and stabilise the exchange rate, with Governor Yemi Cardoso noting earlier this week that exchange rate stability remained the centrepiece of the apex bank’s policy toolkit.
The central banker said the structure of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has changed significantly under the ongoing reforms introduced by the apex bank, adding that increased market liquidity has reduced the need for heavy intervention by the CBN.
According to him, daily foreign exchange market turnover has risen sharply from about $100 million when the current administration took office to roughly $550 million presently, with transactions occasionally climbing to as high as $1 billion in a single day.
He said the apex bank expects turnover to consistently hit the $1 billion mark in the future as more reforms take effect.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was mixed during the session, as liquidations were split between longs and shorts and did not reflect a one-sided capitulation. Market analysts noted that rising long-term US Treasury yields and geopolitical tensions, particularly around US-Iran relations and oil prices, are seen as the main headwinds.
TRON (TRX) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.3647, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.7 per cent to $655.16, Cardano (ADA) added 0.7 per cent to trade at $0.2495, and Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.4 per cent to $86.55.
However, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.9 per cent to $1.35, Bitcoin (BTC) slid by 0.5 per cent to $77,227.47, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.3 per cent to $2,121.80, and Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 0.1 per cent to $0.1049, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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