Naira Depreciates Against US Dollar to ₦1,577.29
The naira underperformed expectations, depreciated further against the US dollar in the official currency market on Monday after FX sales to authorised dealers last week. Some analysts projected that the exchange rate would start to recalibrate after the apex bank recommenced FX intervention sales in the official window last week.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold the sum of 122,671 million dollars to 46 authorised dealers to stem the tide against worsening exchange rates. According to data from the FMDQ platform, the naira depreciated against the US dollar by 0.86% to ₦1,577.29 in the official window.
The additional loss of value was on the back of rising FX demand for payments. This suggests that FX liquidity in the market was below demand, which caused the spot rate to depreciate from its previous close of N1563.80 on Friday.
In the parallel market, the naira exchange rate depreciated to ₦1,545 per US dollar, from N1540 last week due to rising demand in the informal local currency market.
Nigeria’s external reserves surged to $35.375 billion on July 12, according to data from the CBN website. The sustained rise in external balance was as result of FX inflows and crude oil revenue from the NNPCL.
Elsewhere, crude oil prices increased today as US inflation eased, bolstering hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year. As a result, Brent prices decreased by 0.19% to $84.87, while WTI prices increased by 0.35% to $81.94.
Additionally, gold prices rose by 0.51% to $2,432.80 per ounce at the time of this report. #Naira Depreciates Against US Dollar to ₦1,577.29 Dangote Refinery, Fertilizer Coy to Be Listed in Q1 2025
