With a new exchange rate emerging, the Naira has plummeted on official and P2P markets.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, where forex is formally transacted, the naira and the US dollar exchange rate closed at N416.67/$1.
This online news portal learns that the retreated against the US dollar, depreciating by 0.16 percent to close at N416.67/$1, down from N416/$1 in the previous trading session. In the last three trading sessions, demand for the dollar at the official window has been on the decline.
On the other hand, the Naira stayed unchanged in the parallel market on Monday, February 14th, 2022, trading at N570/$1. According to data gathered from BDC operators interviewed by Nairametrics, this is the case.
Nigeria’s external reserve also fell further on Friday, February 11th, 2022, to $39.85 billion. In comparison to the previous day’s $39.87 billion, this is a 0.06 percent decrease. Despite the rising price of crude oil, which is already trading at $95 per barrel and on the verge of breaking the $100 level, the reserve remains intact.
Trading At The Official NAFEX Window
The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed at N416.67/$1 on Monday, 14th February 2022, which represents a 0.16% depreciation compared to N416/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
The opening indicative rate closed to N415.76/$1 on Monday, which represents a 45 kobo depreciation compared to N415.31/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
An exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N416.67/$1, while it sold for as low as N410/$1 during intra-day trading.
Meanwhile, forex turnover at the official window decreased by 9.3% to $76.78 million on Monday.
According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window dropped to $76.78 million on Monday from $84.65 million recorded on Friday 11th February 2022.
Crypto Market
The crypto market got off to a good start on Tuesday, with the industry gaining almost $53 billion in the early hours of the day to reach $1.91 trillion. The optimistic feeling in the two most valued crypto assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, is largely responsible for the movement in the industry’s market capitalization.
Bitcoin, the crypto’s main asset, had gained 2.72 percent to $43,697 at press time, while Ethereum had gained 3.89 percent to $3,044.47. Uniswap gained 2.64 percent to trade at $10.9, Solana gained 5.33 percent to trade at $101.65, Terra gained 2.12 percent to trade at $54.9818931, and Terra gained 2.12 percent to trade at $54.9818931.
Read More: Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate Today 16th February 2022
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, has claimed that crypto assets and stablecoins are no match for well-designed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
“If CBDCs are designed prudently, they can potentially offer more resilience, more safety, greater availability, and lower costs than private forms of digital money,” she stated.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States stated on Monday that BlockFi, a crypto lending platform, has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty. According to the commission, Blockfi Lending LLC failed to register the offers and sales of BlockFi Interest Accounts, a retail crypto lending product (BIAs).
Crude Oil Price Set For $100
The crude oil market began trading on Tuesday morning on a pessimistic note, following a great performance the day before, when it surpassed $96 per barrel and was on its way to the $100 per barrel level.
The market, however, retreated on Tuesday morning, with Brent Crude falling 0.63 percent to $95.87 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) falling 0.71 percent to $94.78 per barrel. Natural gas, on the other hand, rose 3.53 percent to $4.343 a barrel on Tuesday morning, while gasoline fell 0.56 percent to $2.764 per barrel.
Due to ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the market has stayed positive in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, claimed that Russia had rejected formal requests to explain why 100,000 soldiers had been stationed on Ukraine’s borders. Despite the build-up of troops along the border, Russia has rejected any plans to invade Ukraine, according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, the price of OPEC Basket fell 0.02 percent to $92.85 per barrel four days ago, while the price of Bonny Light rose 1.48 percent to $95.97 per barrel. Nigeria’s crude products, Brass River and Qua Iboe, followed suit, gaining 4.8 percent to settle at $98.74 per barrel.
External Reserve
Nigeria’s foreign reserve fell by 0.06 percent on Friday, February 11th, 2022, to $39.85 billion, down $22.74 million from the previous day’s $39.87 billion.
The country’s reserve level has been steadily declining due to the Central Bank’s involvement in the official market to maintain currency rate stability. Although it is worth mentioning that the recent fall has been quite minor, owing to the recent rise in crude oil prices.
