Naira falls at official window as external reserves slumps to record low

Wednesday, 16th June 2021: The exchange rate between naira and the US dollar closed at N412/$1 at the Investors and Exporters window, where forex is traded officially.

Naira depreciated further against the US dollar on Wednesday to close at N412 to a dollar. This represents a 0.06% decline compared to N411.75/$1 recorded on Tuesday, 15th June 2021.

Meanwhile, naira appreciated at the parallel market to close at N502/$1 on Wednesday, compared to N505/$1 recorded on the previous day. Dollar supply however declined by 23.4% from $172.24 million to $131.86 million on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s foreign reserve lost $120.18 million on Tuesday, 15th June 2021, the highest single-day loss recorded since 22nd February 2021. This brings the year-to-date loss to $1.52 billion.

READ: Indigenous firms contribute 30% to Nigeria’s gas reserves, 33% to crude oil reserves – DPR

Trading at the official NAFEX window

The naira depreciated further against the US dollar at the Investors and Exporters window on Wednesday to close at N412/$1, representing a 25 kobo decline when compared to the N411.75/$1 that was recorded on Tuesday.

• The opening indicative rate closed at N411.02 to a dollar on Wednesday, 16th June 2021 representing a 44 kobo appreciation when compared to the N411.46/$1 recorded on Tuesday, 15th June 2021.
• Also, an exchange rate of N420.97 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading, before it settled at N412/$1. It also sold for as low as N387.67/$1 during intra-day trading, the lowest recorded in two weeks.
• Forex turnover at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window decreased by 23.4% on Wednesday, 16th June 2021.
• Data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ showed that forex turnover reduced from $172.24 million recorded on Tuesday, 15th June 2021 to $131.86 million on Wednesday, 16th June 2021.

READ: Naira falls at NAFEX window as oil prices rally above $60 and bitcoins blast past $44k

Cryptocurrency watch

The crypto market traded in bearish territory on Wednesday, 16th June 2021 as the total market capitalisation dipped by 3.34% to close at $1.59 trillion.

• Crypto investors lost about $54.76 billion in a single day. The highly coveted crypto-asset Bitcoin, also recorded a 3.26% decline to close at $38,820.56.
• Ethereum dipped by 5.06% to close at $2,415.74 on Wednesday.
• Meanwhile, regulators have expressed worries about hidden risks to investors and even the financial system stemming from a fast-growing corner of the crypto market meant to be immune from volatility.

READ: Exchange rate depreciates at the black market as ABCON threatens street trading clampdown

Crude oil

Oil prices dipped slightly in the global crude oil market as Brent Crude reported a marginal decline of 0.12% to close at $73.9.

• The prices rose earlier in the day to trade over $74 per barrel after Energy Information Administration reported a 7.4 million barrel draw in inventories for the week ended June 11.
• However, the president of Meglan Capital, David Tawil warns that “incredible demand,” inflation, and shareholder pressure on oil supermajors to drastically cut emissions could lead to an oil crisis within three years, with very high oil and gasoline prices.
• Tawil has given bullish comments on oil for some time and thinks that the prices could hit $100 per barrel soon. “In the near term, oil prices have more room to rise, both from an inflationary standpoint but also from a demand standpoint,” he added.
• Meanwhile, India’s fuel demand jumped by 13% in the first two weeks of June, indicating the first monthly rise since March, suggesting that the worst of the impact of the second COVID wave has peaked and consumption is rebounding.

External reserve

Nigeria’s external reserve plunged further on Tuesday, 15th June 2021 as it dipped by $120.2 million to close at $33.8 billion.

• This indicates the highest single-day loss in almost four months, since February 2021. It also represents a 0.35% reduction in Nigeria’s external reserve position and the lowest level since April 2020.
• A total of $1.5 billion has been lost in reserves year-to-date, while month-to-date loss stands at $380.1 million.
• The decline has persisted despite the gains recorded in the global crude oil price. Oil prices are already trading over $74 per barrel.
• This is largely attributed to the decline in crude oil sales, due to the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on the buying capacity of India, which is one of the world’s largest importers of oil.
• However, reports suggest that India’s oil imports are beginning to pick up. This comes as good news to Nigeria as India is one of the highest importers of Nigerian crude oil.