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Naira Value Further Tumbles to N1,363/$1 at NAFEX

The value of the Naira further tumbled against the United States Dollar by N1.78 or 0.13 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,363.83/$1 on Thursday, June 11, from N1,362.05/$1 on Wednesday.

However, it gained N6.08 on the Pound Sterling in the official market to trade at N1,821.25/£1 versus midweek’s rate of N1,827.33/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N2.46 to sell at N1,572.89/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,575.35/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian Naira lost N1 against the Dollar during the session to quote at N1,371/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s value of N1,370/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,380/$1.

The Nigerian currency is expected to be steady, underpinned by Dollar ​sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), especially with gross external reserves rising to $50.439 billion, reflecting sustained inflows from oil revenue and other FX sources.

Traders expect the local currency ⁠to remain ​stable as the central bank continues to ​sell dollars and keep up its aggressive OMO (Open Market Operations) programme to mop up Naira

Confidence in the Naira remains firm with recent nods from S&P, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that it was bullish on Thursday, as President Donald Trump said the US was close to a deal with Iran and that he had “ended the war with Iran today.” Markets read it as the end of a conflict that has whipsawed prices for more than 100 days.

Market analysts noted that a calmer Middle East takes pressure off oil, which eases the inflation that has fed bets on higher interest rates – the same rate fear that helped drag crypto down this week.

Cardano (ADA) rose 2.5 per cent to $0.1683, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $66.05, Ripple (XRP) grew by 1.3 per cent to $1.12, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $0.0853, Bitcoin (BTC) jumped 0.4 per cent to $62,909.08, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 0.3 per cent to $596.41, Ethereum (ETH) increased by 0.2 per cent to $1,655.02, US Dollar Tether (USDT) advanced by 0.11 per cent to $1.00, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) improved by 0.03 per cent to $1.00, while TRON (TRX) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $0.3126.