By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its bullish performance at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday after it appreciated against the greenback by 1.2 per cent or N15.73.
Data obtained by Business Post from the FMDQ Securities Exchange indicated that the local currency was traded against the US Dollar at midweek at N1,262.85/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing value of N1,278.58/$1.
An improvement in the supply of foreign exchange (FX) into the market helped with the strengthening of the Nigerian currency in the spot market yesterday.
FX transactions worth $166.18 million were completed in the official market during the session, higher than the $118.18 million achieved a day earlier by 49.5 per cent or $55 million.
Also, the Naira improved its value against the British Pound Sterling yesterday by N9.32 to trade at N1,671.56/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,680.88/£1, and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency chalked up N4.26 to sell at N1,432.83/€1 versus N1,437.09/€1.
As for the black market, the local currency firmed up its value against the parallel market by N5 to sell for N1,250/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1,250/$1.
The cryptocurrency market recorded a large retreat as traders took profit following recent runs led by Litecoin (LTC), which recorded an 8.6 per cent loss to sell at $98.60.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 6.5 per cent to sell at $0.1747, Ripple (XRP) dropped 3.3 per cent to $0.5774, and Cardano (ADA) lost 2.0 per cent to trade at $0.5757.
Bitcoin (BTC) recorded a 0.5 per cent loss as it sold at $65,761.32, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 0.4 per cent to $556.85, and Solana (SOL) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $185.46.
But Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.7 per cent to $3,307.86 spurred by posted major growth in the first quarter of 2024, seeing positive signs in most income statement metrics, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat each at $1.00.