The Naira ended its recent losing streak with a N5.06 or 0.37 per cent appreciation on Wednesday, May 13, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), trading at N1,370.56/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,375.62/$1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N21.43 to N1,87/£1 from N1,874.42/£1, and gained N16.12 against the Euro to close at N1,605.19/€1 versus N1,621.31/€1.
However, at the GTBank FX desk, it lost N8 against the greenback at midweek to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,375/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
The improvement in the value of the Naira comes as Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with buffers to support the Naira and meet external obligations, also recorded a fresh accretion.
Data published on the apex bank’s website showed that reserves rose by about $150 million or 0.2 per cent to $48.48 billion as of May 12, 2026, from $48.33 billion recorded on May 5, 2026.
Interbank turnover also climbed significantly by 75.31 per cent to $130.55 million on Wednesday compared to $74.47 million recorded the previous day. At the same time, the volume of transactions rose by 25 per cent to 130 deals on Wednesday from 104 deals recorded on Tuesday.
A look at the cryptocurrency market indicated that inflation surprises and renewed geopolitical tension over Taiwan weakened risk sentiment.
The sell pressure built around the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, the first visit to China by a sitting US president in nearly a decade. Mr Xi pressed Mr Trump on Taiwan in their first meeting at the Great Hall of the People, warning of a potential “collision or even clashes” if the issue is mishandled.
China’s readout of Mr Xi’s remarks appeared to be released before the meeting had concluded, pushing the self-ruled island into the spotlight and rattling risk sentiment globally.
Solana (SOL) crashed by 4.3 per cent to $91.12, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 2.6 per cent to $0.2656, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 1.6 per cent to $1.43, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.5 per cent to $79,773.30, Ethereum (ETH) tumbled by 1.3 per cent to $2,266.06, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.2 per cent to $669.40.
But Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $0.1146, and TRON (TRX) improved by 0.4 per cent to $0.3505, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.