Thursday, January 27, 2022: The Naira to US Dollar exchange rate closed at N416.33/$1 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) desk, where forex is officially traded.
The naira fell against the US dollar on Thursday, returning to the level seen on Tuesday as it depreciated 0.02 to close at 416.33 naira/$1. The exchange rate has maintained an average of 416.66 naira per dollar since the start of the new year.
Strong points
Forex turnover in the official market decreased by 7.7% to $113.71 million from $123.13 million recorded in the previous trading session.
- On the other hand, the exchange rate appreciated by 0.47% in the P2P market on Friday morning, trading at a low of N579.78/$1 against N582.5/$1 recorded on Thursday morning. .
- Naira closed at N568/$1 in the parallel market, the same as recorded in the previous trading session. This is according to information obtained from BDC traders interviewed by Nairametrics.
- Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $29.65 million on Wednesday to close at $40.18 billion as of January 26, 2022, down 0.07% from the $40.21 billion recorded on January 25. January 2022.
Negotiate at the official NAFEX counter
The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed at N416.33/$1 on Thursday, January 27, 2022, representing a depreciation of 0.02% from the N416.25/$1 recorded during the previous trading session.
- The indicative opening rate closed at N415.1/$1 on Thursday, representing an appreciation of 25 kobo from the N415.36/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
- An exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded in intraday trading before settling at N416.33/$1, when it sold off as low as 408 N/$1 in intraday trades.
- Forex turnover at the official counter decreased slightly by 7.7% to $113.71 million on Thursday, January 27, 2022.
- According to data tracked by FMDQ’s Nairametrics, forex turnover at the I&E window increased from $123.13 million recorded on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 to $113.71 million on Thursday, January 27, 2022.
Cryptocurrency monitoring
The cryptocurrency market suffered a downturn on Thursday, as bitcoin fell slightly by 0.24% to close at $36,740 at 12:00 a.m. Nigerian time, leading to a 2.96% rise in capitalization stock market as crypto investors lost $49.71 billion in a single trading day. .
Similarly, Ethereum fell 3.24% to trade at $2,383.9 and Solana fell 4.11% to trade at $88.3425. Additionally, Tera crashed 10.06% on Thursday to close at $52.8622876 while Uniswap trended down 4.06% to close at $10.15.
Crude oil holds steady at $90 a barrel
The crude oil market continued its uptrend on Thursday, after Brent Crude held the price at $90 a barrel, despite falling below it in intraday trading. This follows tensions between Russia and Ukraine, tightening supply and falling inventories, which have allowed Brent crude to maintain a bullish trend.
On Thursday, Brent Crude posted a marginal gain of 0.04% to close at $90 a barrel at 12:00 a.m. Friday, while natural gas gained a massive 46.48% to close at $6.265. In contrast, West Texas Intermediate fell 0.85% to close at $86.61 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the OPEC+ group is expected to decide next week whether to continue reversing oil production cuts of an additional 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March. This follows the resilience of the market despite growing covid-19 concerns in importing countries.
External reserve
Nigeria’s external reserve fell 0.07% on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 to close at $40.18 billion, down $29.65 million from the $40.21 billion recorded last year. day before.
The continued decline in the level of the country’s reserves can be attributed to the Central Bank’s intervention in the official market to ensure exchange rate stability. It should be noted that the country’s foreign exchange reserve gained $5.99 billion in the month of October, thanks to the $4 billion raised by the federal government through the issuance of Eurobonds in the international market. debt.
However, in the month of November, Nigeria’s external reserve lost $611.01 million compared to a gain of $5.99 million recorded the previous month and a gain of $2.76 million in September 2021. In December 2021, the reserve decreased by $66.17 million, while in January 2022, a total of $336.84 million was lost at the reserve level.
