Friday, 30th July 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed lower at N411.44/$1 at the official Investors and Exporters window.
Naira appreciated against the US dollar to close at N411.44/$1 on Friday, representing a 0.06% gain compared to N411.67/$1 recorded on the previous day.
Also, naira appreciated the parallel market to close at N515/$1, having traded at N520/$1 on the previous day. This represents a N5 gain when compared to the previous day’s rate as dollar supply rose significantly by 108.5%.
The recovery is coming after the exchange rate had dropped following the announcement of the ban placed on the sale of forex to BDC operators in Nigeria by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The naira strengthened further as dollar demand dropped with the BDC operators assuring of continuous provision of foreign exchange services despite non-allocation of forex by the CBN.
Trading at the official I&E window
Naira appreciated against the US dollar at the Investors and Exporters window on Friday to close at N411.44/$1, representing a 23 kobo gain when compared to N411.67/$1 recorded on Thursday.
- The opening indicative rate also appreciated from N411.58/$1 recorded on Thursday, 29th July 2021 to close at N411.40/$1 on Friday.
- An exchange rate of N412.25 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N411.44/$1, while it sold for as low as N400/$1 during intra-day trading.
- Meanwhile, forex turnover at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window rose by 108.5% on Friday, 30th July 2021.
- According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover increased from $58.07 million recorded on Thursday, 29th July 2021 to $121.08 million on Friday.
Cryptocurrency watch
The world’s most popular and largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, dropped by 5.91% in the early hours of Monday to close at $39,753.20 after it had built some momentum and hit the highest level since the middle of May.
- Bitcoin had gained on Sunday for an 11th day in the past 12 and traded up to $42,606, its highest since May 18.
- Bitcoin, which for weeks trended downward from its mid-April record near $65,000, has now spent more than a week building back as supportive comments from Elon Musk and Cathie Wood helped bump it out of a declining trend.
- Edward Moya, senior market analyst for North America at Oanda Corp., in his note on Friday said that retail interest is strong, while institutional interest is somewhat lagging and needing fresh endorsements.
- Meanwhile, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, dropped by 2.66% to trade at $2,551.84.
Crude oil price
The crude oil market was bearish on Sunday evening as Brent crude dropped by 1.14% to close at $74.55 per barrel. Oil fell after 4 monthly gains with data signalling a slowdown in China and investors monitored the spread of the delta coronavirus variant.
- While futures dropped, traders also monitored a rise in tensions between Iran and the U.S. Washington has formally blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israel-linked oil tanker, warning of an appropriate response.
- The standoff comes as the two nations are seeking to revive a nuclear accord that, if successful, may pave the way for an end to U.S. sanctions on official Iranian oil flows.
- Oil has risen every month this year apart from March as the global recovery from the pandemic stoked consumption, although traders remain wary about the threat carried by the disease’s persistence.
- Against that backdrop, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies have largely followed through with plans to ease supply curbs, with an extra 400,000 barrels a day to be released this month
- Also, WTI Crude dropped 1.04% on Sunday evening to trade at $73.18 per barrel, Natural gas recorded a 1.18% gain in price to trade at $3.960. Meanwhile, Bonny Light traded in a positive region at $74.32 per barrel, representing a 0.27% gain.
External reserve
Nigeria’s foreign reserve increased by $26 million on Thursday, 29th July 2021 to close at $33.381 billion compared to $33.355 billion recorded as of 28th July 2021.
- Since the reserve started moving positively, it has gained over $287.1 million in just 10 days despite enduring a significant plunge in the previous months.
- Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria banned the sales of foreign exchange to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country, due to reports of the operators’ illegal trading of the dollar, trading beyond the limit threshold of $5,000 and gradually dollarizing the Nigerian economy, according to the CBN governor.