The naira gained 0.02 percent against the dollar on Friday, closing at N414.73/$1, up from N414.8/$1 in previous trading sessions, as Nigeria’s external reserve climbed by $69 million for the first time in over a month.
At the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Friday, December 3rd, 2021, the naira and the US dollar exchange rate closed at N414.73/$1.
The official market’s forex turnover fell by 37.4 percent to $139.67 million from $223.18 million the day before.
The naira, on the other hand, declined against the US dollar on Friday, falling 0.53 percent to settle at N570/$1 vs N567/$1 in the previous trading session.
Nigeria’s foreign reserve fell by 0.09 percent on Thursday, December 2nd, to $41.12 billion, down from $41.15 billion the day before. The apex bank’s participation in the official currency market is blamed for the recent drop in the country’s external reserves.
Trading at the NAFEX official window
On Friday, the Investors and Exporters window exchange rate rose by 7 kobo to close at N414.73/$1, up from N415.8/$1 over the previous six trading sessions.
On Friday, the starting indicative rate fell 12 kobo to N414.06/$1, a decrease of 12 kobo from the previous trading session’s rate of N413.94/$1.
During intra-day trading, the highest rate was N461.27/$1 before it settled at N414.73/$1, and it sold for as low as N404/$1 before settling at N414.73/$1.
On Friday, forex turnover at the official window fell by 26.2 percent to $103.01 million.
Forex turnover at the I&E window fell from $139.67 million on Thursday 2nd December 2021 to $103.01 million on Friday 3rd December 2021.
Keep an eye on cryptocurrency.
The crypto market had a wild weekend, with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plummeting, yet another sign of the risk aversion sweeping global markets.
Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, fell 0.63 percent to $48,997.87 in the early hours of Monday, after dropping over 20 percent to $42,000 over the weekend.
The weekend cryptocurrency thrashing, which brought Bitcoin below $50,000 and wreaked havoc on other digital assets, has cooled investor optimism, which had been forecasting a run at $100,000 just weeks ago.
The sudden drop was fueled by liquidations in the crypto futures market, industry players believe, and was fueled by anxiety about the Federal Reserve easing monetary policy in the face of increasing inflation and global fears over the new Omicron edition of COVID-19.
Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market value, fell 0.98 percent to $4,160.10.
The price of crude oil
Oil prices surged in the early hours of Monday, with Brent crude rising 2.03% to $71.30 per barrel after Saudi Arabia raised its petroleum pricing, signaling confidence in the demand outlook despite the development of the Omicron coronavirus variety.
The rise in oil prices is also aided by the dimming chance of an increase in Iranian exports as informal US-Iran talks on renewing the nuclear deal appear to have reached a stalemate.
Saudi Arabia increased official selling prices for all oil grades shipped to Asia and the United States by up to 80 cents in January, compared to the previous month.
The price hikes were imposed despite the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their Allies, including Russia, deciding last week to keep raising supplies by 400,000 barrels per day in January, a group known as OPEC+.
Concerns that the novel coronavirus strain Omicron could have an impact on global economic development and fuel demand caused oil benchmarks to decrease for the sixth week in a row for the first time since November 2018 last week.
The West Texas Intermediate crude oil price rose 2.14 percent to $67.68 per barrel. Natural gas, on the other hand, fell 7.14 percent to $3,837 per barrel, while the OPEC Basket fell 2.23 percent to $70.03 per barrel.
Nigerian crude Bonny Light, on the other hand, was up 2.26 percent to $70.68 per barrel.
Reserves from outside sources
Nigeria’s external reserve fell by 0.09 percent to $41.12 billion on Thursday, December 2nd, 2021. This indicates a reduction of $36+.5 million from the previous day’s total of $41.15 billion.
The apex bank’s constant intervention in guaranteeing the currency rate’s stability can be ascribed to the country’s reserve level’s consistent fall.
It’s worth noting that the country’s foreign reserve increased by $5.99 billion in October as a result of the federal government raising $4 billion through the issuing of Eurobonds on the international debt market.
Nigeria’s foreign reserve fell by $633.47 million in November, compared to a gain of $5.99 million the previous month and a gain of $2.76 million in September 2021. The reserve gain for the year to date has dropped to $5.74 billion.
