Thursday, 22nd April 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N410/$1 in the Importers and Exporters window.
Naira remained stable on Thursday, at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) window, as the rate closed at N410 to a dollar, the same as recorded on Wednesday, 21st April 2021.
Meanwhile, the naira gained marginally in the parallel market to close at N485/$1 on Thursday. The rate appreciated by 0.21% compared to N486/$1 recorded a day before.
The price of the world’s most popular digital instrument dropped on Friday, 23rd April 2021, while Nigeria’s external reserve continues to record a decline.
READ: CBN Governor says Nigeria’s external reserves sufficient to cover 7-months import
Trading at the official NAFEX window
The naira remained stable against the US dollar at the Investors and Exporters window on Thursday to close at N410/$1, the same as recorded on Wednesday.
- The opening indicative rate closed at N409.68 to a dollar on Thursday, 22nd April 2021. This is a 14 kobo depreciation, compared to N409.54/$1 recorded on Wednesday.
- Also, an exchange rate of N436.4 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N410/$1. It also sold for as low as N394/$1 during intra-day trading.
- Forex turnover at the Investor and Exporters (I&E) window surged by 169.2% on Thursday, 22nd April 2021.
- Data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ showed that forex turnover increased from $40.13 million recorded on Wednesday, 21st April 2021, to $108.04 million on Thursday.
READ: Naira gains at black market as external reserves increases by $620 million in 2 weeks
Cryptocurrency watch
The world’s most priced digital asset plunged 3.68% on Friday morning to trade at $49,710
- It dipped below $50k, as of 4:20 am on Friday, 23rd April 2021 as sell-offs by investors put pressure on the most sought-after cryptocurrency in the world.
- Bitcoin has experienced a massive drop over the past few weeks, having enjoyed a significant rise earlier in the year.
- According to a report, the decline signals an imminent reversal from its initial gains witnessed in 2020 and earlier in 2021.
- Historically, Bitcoin has not stayed down for very long, and it has been known to be quite volatile and swing quickly and unexpectedly. Hence, it is hoped that the digital instrument will spring back up, in coming trading sessions.
Crude oil price
The price of crude oil recorded positive growth in the early hours of Friday, 23rd April 2021.
- Brent Crude increased by 0.32% to trade at $65.61, indicating a growth of $0.21, compared to $65.83 recorded at the end of trade on Thursday
- WTI Crude increased by 0.5% to trade at $65.61, while Natural Gas currently sells for an average of $2.752.
- Meanwhile, Libya’s crude oil production has fallen significantly after a company said it would have to reduce output by 100,000 barrels per day.
- Recall that, Nairametrics had reported that Libya’s National Corporation declared force majeure on exports from the port of Hariga due to lack of maintenance funds, consequently shutting down several fields and bringing the country’s production to less than 1 million barrels per day.
External reserve
Nigeria’s external reserve position, reduced by 0.09% on Wednesday 21st April 2021 to stand at $35.15 billion.
- Data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revealed that Nigeria’s external reserve dipped from $35.218 billion recorded on 20th April 2021 to $35.15 billion on Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
- This represents the third consecutive decline recorded in the week, having had 19 successive growths in Nigeria’s external reserve.
- The growth recorded was attributed to increasing global oil prices and the movement by the Apex bank to improve dollar inflow into the county.
