Naira gains at official and parallel markets as liquidity surges significantly by 232%

Wednesday, 10th November 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N414.73/$1, at the Investors and Exporters window, where forex is traded officially.

Naira gains against the US dollar to close at N414.73/$1 on Wednesday 10th November 2021, representing a 0.08% appreciation compared to N415.07/$1 recorded at the close of trading activities on Tuesday, 9th November 2021.

Similarly, naira gained massively at the parallel market to close around N535/$1 on Wednesday, representing a 6.1% appreciation compared to N570/$1, which it had maintained for some days. This is according to information obtained by Nairametrics from BDC operators in Lagos.

According to the BDC, the gain of the local currency is attributed to increased forex liquidity in the country, as the CBN continues to intervene in the market. Notably, forex turnover surged by 231.51% to $306.24 million on Wednesday compared to $92.38 million recorded in the previous trading session.

Nigeria’s foreign reserve lost $19.44 million on Tuesday, 9th November 2021 to close at $41.58 billion, representing a 0.05% decline.

Trading at the official NAFEX window

The exchange rate appreciated against the US dollar on Wednesday, 10th November 2021 to close at N414.73/$1 compared to N415.07/$1 recorded in the previous trading session. This represents a 0.08% gain in the country’s exchange rate.

• The opening indicative rate closed at N413.89/$1 on Wednesday, indicating a 32 kobo depreciation compared to N413.57/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
• An exchange rate of N444 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N414.73/$1, while it sold for as low as N404/$1 during intra-day trading. The highest rate recorded during the day has been the same in the past two weeks.
• Forex turnover at the official window surged by 231.5% to $306.24 million on Wednesday.
• According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window increased from $92.38 million recorded on Tuesday 9th November 2021 to $306.24 million on Wednesday 10th November 2021.

Cryptocurrency watch

The crypto market traded bearish on Wednesday, declining by 3.56% to close at $2.78 trillion. This implies that the sector lost $102.51 billion in a day. In the same vein, Bitcoin dipped 2.92% to close at $64,987.79 as of 10:40 pm on Wednesday.

Ethereum also dipped 2.63% to close at $4,608.54. Meanwhile, Bitcoin had rallied to an all-time high earlier in the day as the latest United States Labor Department report reveals that in the 12 months through October the consumer price index (CPI), increased by 6.2%.

U.S. consumer prices increased more than expected in October as the cost of gasoline and food surged, leading to the biggest annual gain since 1990. This also gives signs that inflation could remain uncomfortably high well into next year amid grumbled global supply chains.

Crude oil price

Crude oil prices fell significantly on Wednesday after a recent report by the Energy Information Administration indicated an inventory build of 1 million barrels for the week ended November 5, 2021. Brent Crude dipped 2.54% on Wednesday to close at $82.63 per barrel, while WTI closed at $81.32 per barrel, representing a decline of 3.36%.

In the same manner, Natural gas dipped marginally by 0.72% to trade below the $5 mark as it closed at $4.943 on Wednesday. OPEC Basket recorded a 0.36% gain to close at $82.64 per barrel.

Nigeria’s crude, Bonny Light gained 0.36% to close at $83.74 per barrel on Wednesday, while Brass River and Qua Iboe on the other hand also both traded bullish with a gain of 2.23% to close at $85.16 per barrel.

External reserve

Nigeria’s foreign reserve declined by 0.05% to close at $41.58 billion as of Tuesday, 9th November 2021 compared to $41.59 billion recorded as of the previous day.

However, the nation’s foreign reserve gained $5.04 billion in the month of October, as a result of the $4 billion raised by the federal government from the issuance of Eurobond in the international debt market. The gains recorded in the previous month is higher than the $2.76 billion gain recorded in the month of September 2021, while the recent decrease puts the year-to-date gain at $6.21 billion.

So far in the month of November, Nigeria’s reserve has lost $240.87 million.

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