By Adedapo Adesanya

Seasonal demand pressure pushed the Naira against the United States Dollar southward by N2.55 or 0.19 per cent to N1,349.34/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, November 9, from the previous session’s N1,346.79/$1.

Also, this weakened the domestic currency against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N6.92 to N1,810.55/£1 from N1,803.63/£1, and sank against the Euro by N6.35 to N1,510.45/€1 from the preceding trading day’s N1,504.10/€1.

Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N1 against the US Dollar yesterday by N1 at the GTBank FX desk to quote at N1,357/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,356/$, but remained unchanged at the black market at N1,375/$1.

The depreciation coincides with a festive-period pressure trend as trading activity moderated, and the country’s external reserves paused their recent growth, limiting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ability to buffer against external shocks and its capacity to manage exchange rate pressures.

Data from the apex bank showed a relative slowdown, with total FX turnover declining by 9.70 per cent to $210.38 million on Monday from $232.98 million recorded on Friday. The number of deals also fell by 21.09 per cent to 116 transactions from 147 transactions.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was up on Monday as traders started to price in October inflation data, with economists expecting monthly price increases to slow.

Softer inflation could spark a relief rally, but analysts said a sustained recovery would require stronger buying demand and renewed inflows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

In the last 24 hours, Cardano (ADA) gained 2.1 per cent to trade at $0.1782, Dogecoin (DOGE) improved by 1.2 per cent to $0.0699, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 0.8 per cent to $689.74, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 0.2 per cent to $74,623.66, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 0.1 per cent to $1.09, and TRON (TRX) also soared by 0.1 per cent to $0.3174.

On the flip side, Solana (SOL) weakened by 0.7 per cent to $85.96, and Ethereum (ETH) dipped by 0.5 per cent to $2,117.68, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

Nigerian Exchange Rebounds 1.44% Amid Weak Investor Sentiment

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.