By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 1.8 per cent or N29.54 on Tuesday, December 3.
At the official market yesterday, the exchange rate stood at N1,643.15/$1, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N1,672.69/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Also, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the greenback during the session at N1,730/$1.
This development followed the launch of the apex bank-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), which began operations this week.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including an expected rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system is expected to instantly reflect data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
The central bank also said it would publish real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has successfully raised $2.2 billion in Eurobonds maturing in 2031 and 2034 in the international capital markets to finance deficits from the 2024 budget.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) said that the two Eurobonds, with 6.5 years and ten years tenors, have $700 million placed in the 2031 maturity, and $1.5 billion placed in the 2034 maturity.
It said that the notes were priced at a coupon and re-offer yield of 9.625 per cent and 10.375 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was majorly positive, with Binance Coin (BNB) growing by 18.1 per cent to an all-time high (ATH) price of $774.92 amid a mix of technical signs and bullish market sentiment.
Further, Solana (SOL) jumped by 4.2 per cent to trade at $236.64, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.8 per cent to settle at $3,716.76, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 2.5 per cent to finish at $132.16, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 1.0 per cent to $96,567.61, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.9 per cent to $0.4208, and Ripple (XRP) rose by 0.2 per cent to $2.63.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 2.7 per cent to sell at $1.23, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.