Market News

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N3.32 or 0.24 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, July 28, to exchange at N1,365.53/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,362.21/$1.

Equally, the local currency went south against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N2.38 to close at N1,816.43/£1 versus Monday’s closing price of N1,814.05/£1, and against the Euro, it depleted by N2.69 to trade at N1,552.88/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,550.19/€1.

However, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the GTbank FX desk by N2 during the session to sell for N1,370/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,372/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.

The country’s external reserves declined after the FX injections by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the currency market last week.

Interbank FX turnover rose sharply on the day to $102.954 million on Tuesday, reflecting a 160 per cent surge from $39.587 million recorded during the previous trading session.

Driving the huge US Dollar volume turnover on Tuesday, the apex bank reported that the number of FX deals at the interbank market advanced to 121 from 55.

In the cryptocurrency market, coins were largely insulated despite recent tech stock routs, which suggests its tight correlation with AI-linked equities may be weakening, even as regulatory uncertainty and upcoming Federal Reserve and economic data loom over markets.

There is uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve rate decision due on Wednesday, as most observers expect the bank to keep rates unchanged, while some expect a hike in borrowing costs.

Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 4.5 per cent to $0.1639, Ripple (XRP) grew by 2.6 per cent to $1.08, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.7 per cent to $1,917.05, Bitcoin (BTC) got a 1.4 per cent lift to sell at $64,374.04, and Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $570.27.

Further, Solana (SOL) improved by 0.8 per cent to $73.93, Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed higher by 0.6 per cent to $0.0707, and TRON (TRX) advanced by 0.3 per cent to $0.3255, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.