Market News

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N2.82 or 0.2 per cent to N1,383.88 /$1 on Thursday, March 26, from the N1,386.70/$1 it was traded a day earlier.

Also, the local currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N8.62 to trade at N1,847.76/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,856.38/£1, and gained N8.66 on the Euro to sell at N1,597.14/€1 versus N1,605.80/€1.

However, the Naira lost N10 against the Dollar at the GTBank FX desk to quote at N1,401/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,391/$1, and in the parallel market, it depreciated by N5 to trade at N1,410/$1, in contrast to the N1,405/$1 it was traded on Wednesday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has scaled back its foreign exchange interventions since the Naira’s previous rebound, allowing market dynamics to play a more prominent role.

Moreover, the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran has intensified demand for the Dollar, propelling the greenback upward while other major currencies have experienced notable declines since the conflict erupted.

Despite strong expectations that instability in the Middle East would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange income, the country’s gross external reserves have plunged for several consecutive days.

Meanwhile, the digital currency market was under pressure on Thursday due to geopolitical conflicts, as Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have disrupted a key workaround to offset supply shocks from the Iran war. Elevated oil prices are reinforcing concerns about persistent inflation and the prospect of tighter monetary policy.

This is amplifying risks for financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.

Solana (SOL) depreciated by 3.4 per cent to $85.97, Cardano (ADA) slipped 3.1 per cent to $0.2536, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.9 per cent to $2,059.61, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 2.0 per cent to $68,589.47, Ripple (XRP) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $1.35, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 1.2 per cent to $627.56, and Dogecoin (DOGE) moderated by 0.8 per cent by $0.0919.

But TRON (TRX) gained 0.1 per cent to sell at $0.3149, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.