Wednesday 17th March 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US Dollar closed at N409.75 to a dollar at the Investors and Exporters window.
The Naira remained stable against the US Dollar on Wednesday to close at N409.75/$1. This was the same rate that was recorded on Tuesday, 16th March 2021 as the dollar supply improves significantly by 359.4%
Also, the Naira remained stable against the US Dollar in the parallel market, to close at N485 to a dollar. the same as the rate that was recorded on the previous day.
Trading at the official NAFEX window
Naira remained stable against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters window on Wednesday to close at N409.75 to a dollar. This was the same rate that was recorded on Tuesday, March 17, 2021.
- The opening indicative rate closed at N409.78 to a dollar on Wednesday. This represents a 54 kobo drop when compared to N409.24/$1 recorded on Tuesday.
- Also, an exchange rate of N412 to a dollar was the highest rate during intra-day trading before it closed at N409.75/$1. It also sold for as low as N390/$1 during intra-day trading.
- Forex turnover at the Investor and Exporters (I&E) window rose significantly by 359.4% on Wednesday, 17th March 2021.
- A look at the data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover increased significantly from $32.33 million recorded on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, to $148.54 million on Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Cryptocurrency watch
Bitcoin, the world’s most popular and largest cryptocurrency rose by about 5% on Wednesday to trade at $59,023 as EU top market regulators have warned investors that they are exposed to significant risks from the rapid rise in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
- Morgan Stanley plans to offer wealthy clients access to 3 funds that will enable ownership of Bitcoin, according to an inside source.
- Crypto traders have been positioning for the arrival of the next round of U.S. stimulus checks and are betting some of that money will find its way to Bitcoin.
Oil prices continue decline
Brent Crude oil on Wednesday 17th March 2021 dropped by 0.89% to close at $67.78, as the continued oil decline is fueled by the surprise estimate of the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday of a draw in crude oil inventories of 1 million barrels for the week ending March 12.
- Oil prices erased earlier gains and traded lower on Wednesday morning, following an estimate by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that no supercycle for oil is around the corner amid plentiful supply and a large global spare capacity.
- Just after the weekly EIA inventory report showed a crude build of 2.4 million barrels for the week to March 12, the crude oil prices went down.
- Oil prices turned lower after the IEA said on Wednesday in its Oil Market Report for March that it doesn’t see either a supercycle in oil or a looming supply crunch, as inventories still look ample, while OPEC+ has more than 9 million BPD of spare production capacity offline because of the cuts.
- WTI Crude closed at $64.28 (+0.32%), OPEC Basket $66.89 (-.89%), Bonny Light $66.20 (-1.05%), and Natural Gas $2,508 (-0.79%).
External reserve sustains decline
Nigeria’s external reserve declined by 0.06% on Tuesday, 16th March 2021 to stand at $34.48 billion being a record low in 10 months.
- The country’s external reserve declined from $34.50 billion recorded as of Monday, 15th March 2021 to stand at $34.48 billion as of 16th March 2021.
- Nigeria’s current external reserve position indicates a total drop of about $520 million in the month of March 2021.
- In December 2020, when the external reserve was $36.4 billion the CBN claimed it could finance 8.4 months of import of goods or 6.3 months of import of goods and services.
- This infers that at $34.48 billion, the external reserve can now service about 7.9 months of imports of goods and 5.99 months of imports of goods and services.
