Naira falls massively as FX turnover drops to 3-month low

The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N416.75/$1 at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, falling lower compared to N416.67/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.

The exchange rate depreciated further by 0.02% to close at N416.75/$1 on Friday, 18th February 2022 compared to N416.67/$1 recorded in the previous session. This represents the lowest level recorded at the official FX market since 4th January 2022.

In the same vein, forex turnover fell to its lowest level in over 3 months, since the 16th of November 2021 to $64.03 million, representing a 49.59% decline compared to $127.02 million recorded in the previous trading session.

On the other hand, Naira closed flat at N575/$1 on Friday at the parallel market, having fallen from N570/$1 in the previous trading session. This is according to information obtained from BDC operators interviewed by Nairametrics.

The exchange rate at the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) forex market depreciated by 0.43% to trade at a minimum of N581 to a dollar on Monday morning compared to N578.49/$1 recorded on Friday, 18th February 2022.

Trading at the official NAFEX window

The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed at N416.75/$1 on Friday, 18th February 2022, representing a 0.02% depreciation compared to N416.67/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.

• It is worth noting that the exchange rate depreciated continuously for the past three trading sessions.
• The opening indicative rate closed at N415.85/$11 on Friday. This represents a 15 kobo appreciation as opposed to the N416/$1 recorded on Thursday, 17th February 2022.
• An exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N416.75/$1, while it sold for as low as N410/$1 during intra-day trading,
• Meanwhile, forex turnover at the official window decreased by 49.59% to $64.03 million on Friday, 18th February 2022.
• According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window dropped to $64.03 million on Friday from $127.02 million recorded on Thursday 17th February 2022.

Crypto market

The crypto market started the day on a positive note with a 2.85% gain in the industry’s market capitalization to stand at $1.75 trillion in the early hours of Monday, following a significant downturn on Sunday, where investors lost over $78 billion in a single day’s trade.

Crypto flagship asset, bitcoin also appreciated by 2.36% to trade at $39,279, having declined by 4.26% to close at $38,400 on Sunday. Similarly, Ethereum also recorded an early appreciation of 4.4% to trade at $2,738 as of 6:30am on Monday. The second most capitalized crypto asset had dipped 5.09% on Sunday to close at $2,623.81.

Meanwhile, the price of Solana appreciated by 3.67% to trade at $64.03, Terra recorded a gain of 4.22% to trade at $51.398, while Uniswap appreciated by 3.42% to trade at $9.68.