Market News

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira took a slide against the US Dollar at the black market on Friday after it depreciated by N5 to trade at N475/$1 in contrast to the previous rate of N470/$1.

Also, the local currency depreciated by N5 against the British Pound Sterling at the same market window yesterday to quote at N625/£ versus N620/£1 it traded on Thursday and closed flat on the Euro at N570/€1.

However, it was a different outcome at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, where the Nigerian currency traded flat against the greenback on Friday at N395/$1, according to data on FMDQ Securities Exchange.

The stability recorded by the Naira came despite the rise in the demand for forex witnessed at the market window yesterday by 50.9 per cent or $80.75 million. At the close of transactions, the daily turnover skyrocketed to $239.17 million from the previous day’s $158.42 million.

Also, at the interbank window, the official Naira to Dollar exchange rate remained unchanged yesterday at N379/$1 just as the exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window stayed at N392/$1.

A look at the cryptocurrency market on Friday showed that only the Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) appreciated, while others pointed south, according to Quidax, a platform used for trading cryptocurrencies in Naira in Nigeria.

The BTC appreciated during the session by 0.7 per cent to sell at N9,039,988.70, while the LTC moved up by 0.6 per cent to sell at N41,174.15.

But the Ripple (RPX) shed 4.1 per cent yesterday to close at N278.14, the Ethereum (ETH) plunged by 3.9 per cent to trade at N275,064.34, the Tron (TRX) dropped 3.6 per cent to trade at N14.40, the Dash (DASH) recorded a 3.1 per cent loss to sell at N48,455.34, while the United States Dollar Tether (USDT) lost 1.0 per cent to settle at N470.07.