Naira on a free fall to record ₦561/$1 at parallel market as demand pressure worsens

Tuesday, 14th September 2021: The exchange rate involving the naira and the US dollar closed at ₦412.08/$1, at the state Investors and Exporters window.

Naira appreciated contrary to the US dollar on Tuesday, to close at ₦412.08/$1 as against the ₦412.75/$1 recorded at the close of trade on Monday, 13th September 2021, representing a 0.16% gain.

The exchange rate at the parallel market depreciated again to a different all-time low on Tuesday to close at ₦557/$1 in comparison to ₦550/$1 recorded in the last trading session. This represents a 1.3% depreciation and further widens the gap involving the market rate and the state rate.

Meanwhile on the crypto USDT parallel market it hit a record low on the same day to close at ₦561/1$.

The local currency crashed by N7 at the black market to hit a new low following CBN’s actions to channel forex demand away from the window as buyers scramble to buy the scarce dollars.

Currency speculators are taking advantage of the huge exchange rate difference between the official market and the black market.

The demand pressure for forex continued despite an 8% improvement in dollar supply at the official window.

Trading at the official NAFEX window

The exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar on Tuesday 14th September 2021 to close at N412.08 to a dollar, representing a 67 kobo gain compared to N412.75/$1 recorded in the previous trading day.

The opening indicative rate closed at N412.18/$1 on Tuesday, 14th September 2021, a 28 kobo gain when compared to N412.46/$1 recorded on Monday, 13th September 2021.

An exchange rate of N414.90 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N412.08/$1, while it sold for as low as N400/$1 during intra-day trading.

Meanwhile, forex turnover at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window rose by 8.2% on Tuesday, 14th September 2021.

According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover increased from $161.82 million recorded on Monday to $175.10 million on Tuesday 14th September 2021.

Cryptocurrency watch

The world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was up by 4.09% to trade at $47,044.19 early on Tuesday evening.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been urged by Fidelity investments to approve its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in a private meeting, listing the virtues of an idea that the regulator has been slow to embrace.

The global crypto market cap inched up to $2.07 trillion compared to the last day. However, the total crypto market volume jumped as much as 23% to $135.74 billion.

CoinDCX Research team said that while Bitcoin pulled back from $50,000 level in late August, it is still being pursued and would soon be retaking its valuation as institutional and retail investors continue to incorporate it in their portfolios.

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum was up by 3.34% to trade at $3,400.80 on Tuesday; in the same vein, XRP was up by 1.79% to trade at $1.09.

The Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa has hit on the risk associated with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to the world economy. According to him, many criminals now play significant roles in crypto-currency markets, adding that virtual currencies had become their preferred medium of exchange.