Naira Gains At Black Market As Exchange Rate Rises To N560/$1 

Naira Gains At Black Market As Exchange Rate Rises To N560/$1 

Naira gained significantly in the parallel market on Thursday, rising to N560/$1 in the early hours of Thursday, December 30th, 2021.

This information was obtained by iexclusivenews from Bureau De Change operators in Lagos State.

The parallel market exchange rate increased by 1.58 percent on Thursday, trading at N560/$1 compared to N569/$1 the previous day.

The exchange rate of N560/$1 was the lowest since November 29th, 2021.

On the other hand, the P2P market exchange rate fell from N568.2/$1 on Wednesday, December 29th, 2021 to N570.2 in the early hours of Thursday, December 30th, 2021.

Naira has witnessed consistent decline in the past week, dropping from N560.95/$1 recorded before the Christmas break to trade for as high as N571.4/$1 at the P2P market.

I&E window (Official market)

The exchange rate closed at N415/$1 on Wednesday, 29th December 2021, representing a 0.02% appreciation when compared to N415.1/$1 recorded in the previous trading session

Forex turnover at the I&E window dropped from $168.62 million recorded on Friday 24th December 2021 to $119.48 million on Wednesday 29th December 2021.

An exchange rate of N446.5/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N415/$1, while it sold for as low as N405/$1 during intra-day trading.

The opening indicative rate closed at N414.05/$1 on Wednesday, which represents a 49 kobo depreciation compared to N413.54/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that the naira gaining against the US dollar at the parallel market is attributed to the Christmas holiday period, as demand for FX dropped during the holiday period.

iexclusivenews gathered that due to the holiday period as Nigerians are busy enjoying the festivities, demand for dollar has dropped which has dragged the exchange rate downwards.

However this online news outlet recall that the exchange rate had hovered around N570/$1 since September 2021, after the central bank clamped down on AbokiFX .

Accusing the online website of manipulating exchange rate, which is tantamount to “economic sabotage”, according to the apex bank.

The rate, however, dropped to as low as N535/$1 on the 11th of November before depreciating to N570/$1 towards the end of the month.

Naira has now received significant boost against the US dollar at the black market following Christmas holiday festivities.

Wednesday, 29th December 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window closed at N415/$1.

Naira recorded a marginal gain against the US dollar following the resumption of trading activities after the Christmas break.

The exchange rate closed at N415/$1 on Wednesday, 29th December 2021, representing a 0.02% appreciation when compared to N415.1/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.

This is despite the 29.1% drop in the volume of traded forex in the market on Wednesday.

In the same vein, naira gained at the parallel market, after closing at N569/$1 on Wednesday, which is a 0.52% appreciation compared to N572/$1 recorded on Friday of the previous week.

On the other hand, exchange rate at the P2P market depreciated from N568.2/$1 recorded on Wednesday, 29th December 2021 to trade at N570.2 in the early hours of Thursday, 30th December 2021.

Naira has witnessed continent decline in the past week, dropping from N560.95/$1 recorded before the Christmas break to trade for as high as N571.4/$1 at the P2P market.

Similarly, Nigeria’s foreign reserve reduced by 0.03% on Friday, 24th December to close at $40.58 billion compared to $40.59 billion recorded as of the previous day.

The continuous decline in the nation’s external reserve is attributed to the intervention by the apex bank in the official forex market.

Trading at the official NAFEX window

The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed at N415/$1 on Wednesday, 29th December 2021, which represents a 0.02% marginal appreciation compared to N415/$1 recorded before the Christmas break.

The opening indicative rate closed at N414.05/$1 on Wednesday, which represents a 49 kobo depreciation compared to N413.54/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.

An exchange rate of N446.5/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N415/$1, while it sold for as low as N405/$1 during intra-day trading.

Forex turnover at the official window decreased by 29.1% to $119.48 million on Wednesday, 29th December 2021.

According to data monitored by iexclusivenews from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window dropped from $168.62 million recorded on Friday 24th December 2021 to $119.48 million on Wednesday 29th December 2021.

Cryptocurrency Watch

On Wednesday, the cryptocurrency market was bearish, losing approximately $27.59 billion in value, representing a 1.23 percent depreciation to close at $2.22 trillion.

The bearish sell sentiment of bitcoin investors triggered the market’s negative direction, resulting in a 0.66 percent decline to close at $47,228.58.

Similarly, Ethereum fell 1.82 percent to close at $3,724.22 on Wednesday, while Solana fell 2.05 percent to close at $173.635. Luna fell 1.32 percent, while Uniswap fell 4.57 percent to close at $17.56.

iexclusive News Nigeria reported that Bitcoin lost about $3k on Tuesday as a result of crypto market liquidations, which exceeded $370 million on the day under review.

At the Crypto futures market for the day, 129,644 traders were liquidated. Bybit received the largest single liquidation order, valued at $5 million.

Crude Oil Price

The crude oil market closed on a positive note on Wednesday, with Brent Crude, a benchmark crude product used to measure market performance, rising 0.43 percent to $79.28 after another crude inventory draw was reported.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 3.6 million barrel inventory draw for the Christmas week, compared to the American Petroleum Institute’s estimate of a 3.09 million barrel inventory draw for the same week.

In addition, West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 0.8 percent to close at $76.59 per barrel on Wednesday, while natural gas fell 1.5 percent to close at $3.994. For the past week, the OPEC basket has remained unchanged at $74.23. per barrel.

Nigerian crude products, Brass River and Qua Iboe, closed positive as well, with a 1.21 percent gain to $77.01 per barrel.

Bonny Light also fell 0.62 percent to $75.38 per barrel. It should be noted that data on the price of Nigerian crude products is 5 days delayed.

External Reserve

Nigeria’s external reserves fell by 0.03 percent on Friday, December 24, 2021, to close at $40.58 billion, a $12.08 million decrease from the previous trading day’s total of $40.59 billion.

The decline in the country’s reserve level can be attributed to the central bank’s ongoing intervention in ensuring exchange rate stability.

The official window exchange rate has remained stable over the last four trading sessions.

It is worth noting that the country’s foreign reserves increased by $5.99 billion in October, owing to the $4 billion raised by the federal government through the issuance of Eurobonds in the international debt market.

However, in the month of November, Nigeria’s external reserve lost $611.01 million in value as against a gain of $5.99 million recorded in the previous month and a $2.76 million gain in September 2021.

So far in the month of December, the reserve level has lost over $600 million, while on a year-to-date basis, the reserve gain has reduced to $5.2 billion.

However, Nigeria’s external reserve lost $611.01 million in value in November, compared to a gain of $5.99 million in the previous month and a gain of $2.76 million in September 2021.

So far in December, the reserve level has dropped by more than $600 million, bringing the year-to-date reserve gain to $5.2 billion.