By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, July 30.
Data showed that the value of the local currency weakened against the greenback by 0.6 per cent or N9.72 to sell at N1,621.12/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,611.40/$1.
It was the fifth straight day the Nigerian currency was declining despite efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the market.
Yesterday, the value of forex transactions at the spot market went down by 7.2 per cent or $13.00 million to $166.34 million compared with the $179.34 million, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
But the Naira witnessed no movement against the British currency, Pound Sterling, and the Euro during the trading session at N2,068.45/£1 and N1,741.61/€1, respectively.
In the parallel market, the Naira suffered a N10 loss against the Dollar on Tuesday to quote at N1,610/$1 versus Monday’s closing rate of N1,600/$1.
The Naira is weakening even as the CBN Governor, Mr Yemi Cardoso, was quoted by Hakama Sidi Ali, acting director of the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, as saying that the bank is desirous of stabilising the FX market.
The statement stressed the CBN governor’s commitment to stabilising the foreign exchange market.
“The Governor has assured that the bank will continue to address the supply gap to ensure the market stability,” the CBN chief noted while announcing fresh liquidity into the FX market last week.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed, with Ripple (XRP) surging by 8.2 per cent to $0.6467 on speculations about the ruling date for a case between Ripple and the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting the intense anticipation surrounding this case. With multiple motions pending and the potential for appeals, the final decision could significantly impact the crypto landscape and investors betting on a resolution.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 2.3 per cent to $586.22, and Solana (SOL) jumped 0.8 per cent to trade at $182.64.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to sell at $0.1265, Litecoin (LTC) fell by 1.8 per cent to $72.23, Bitcoin (BTC) waned by 0.4 per cent to $66,411.22, Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.3 per cent to $0.4028, and Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 0.1 per cent to $3,319.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.