Naira Gains After Four Days of Decline, Official Rate Hits N1,370.64/$1

The Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the official market on Tuesday, June 22, after four days of losses. Data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) showed the Naira closed at N1,370.64/$1, gaining 0.11 per cent or N1.53 from the previous day's rate of N1,369.11/$1.

In the same session, the Naira strengthened against the Pound Sterling by N4.69 to trade at N1,810.75/£1, up from N1,815.44/£1. It also gained N5.37 on the Euro, closing at N1,561.02/€1 compared to Monday's N1,566.39/€1.

At the black market, the Naira remained flat against the Dollar at N1,395/$1. The GTBank forex desk also reported no change, with the rate steady at N1,380/$1.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) daily FX update noted improved forex liquidity. However, strong dollar outflows outweighed the dollar volume on Tuesday. Interbank FX turnover surged 92 per cent to $125.314 million across 106 deals at the official window, up from $65.206 million the previous day. This signals robust market activity and growing investor confidence.

Nigeria's foreign reserves continued to climb, reaching $51.142 billion, up from $51.060 billion reported the day before, according to the CBN.

In the cryptocurrency market, digital currencies fell as heavy selling in technology stocks kept pressure on risk assets globally. The US Dollar index rose to a seven-month high as investors moved toward safer assets. Cardano (ADA) led the losers, dropping 2.1 per cent to $0.1511. Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 1.3 per cent to $0.0789, Ethereum (ETH) lost 0.9 per cent to $1,673.38, and Ripple (XRP) declined 0.7 per cent to $1.10. TRON (TRX) slipped 0.7 per cent to $0.3285, Solana (SOL) dipped 0.3 per cent to $69.83, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 0.2 per cent to $62,756.99, and Binance Coin (BNB) edged down 0.01 per cent to $579.20. The US Dollar Tether (USDT) and US Dollar Coin (USDC) held steady at $1.00 each.