Naira Firms to N1,328/$1 as CBN Injects $151 Million Into FX Market

The naira strengthened in the official foreign exchange market on Thursday, September 10, after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened with about $151 million to boost dollar supply. The local currency gained N1.00, or 0.08 per cent, to close at N1,328.22/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), up from N1,329.22/$1 on Wednesday.

The CBN's move came after the naira fell heavily in recent sessions under demand pressure.

Gains Across Sterling and Euro

The naira also appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window, gaining N3.93 to close at N1,798.22/£1 compared with Wednesday's N1,802.15/£1. Against the Euro, it added N7.28 to trade at N1,540.99/€1, better than the midweek rate of N1,548.27/€1.

The picture was mixed elsewhere. At the GTBank forex counter, the naira weakened by N10.00 to sell at N1,340/$1, against N1,330/$1 the previous day. At the black market, the rate stayed unchanged at N1,375/$1.

CardinalStone Puts Intervention at $151 Million

CardinalStone, in a market update posted on Thursday, said the CBN sold $151.0 million at rates between N1,322.71 and N1,331.50 per Dollar.

The intervention is a deliberate effort to strengthen the local currency. It also comes as Nigeria's gross external reserves rose to $54.283 billion, giving the country a stronger buffer to defend the naira and absorb shocks.

Crypto Market Stays Weak

The cryptocurrency market remained weak during the session after hotter-than-expected producer inflation in the United States drove Treasury yields higher and increased expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase. August producer prices rose 5.4 per cent and pushed 30-year Treasury yields to a 19-year high.

Higher real yields drain crypto through two channels at once. They make government debt competitive with an asset that pays nothing, and they raise the cost of carrying leverage. Friday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the next input, and a hot print would put a Federal Reserve hike back into the price of everything that fell on Thursday.

Ripple (XRP) slumped 2.9 per cent to $1.34, Dogecoin (DOGE) declined 2.2 per cent to $0.0855, Solana (SOL) shrank 2.1 per cent to $99.82, Cardano (ADA) slipped 2.0 per cent to $0.2095, and Bitcoin (BTC) fell 1.5 per cent to $77,255.53. Binance Coin (BNB) went down 0.8 per cent to $716.29, Ethereum (ETH) decreased 0.4 per cent to $2,468.51, and TRON (TRX) tumbled 0.3 per cent to $0.3398, while US Dollar Tether (USDT) and US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

For Nigerian businesses and consumers, the CBN's supply boost offers short-term relief on import bills and dollar-denominated obligations, though the gap between the official rate of N1,328.22/$1 and the black market rate of N1,375/$1 shows demand pressure has not disappeared.