Monday, 15th November 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N415.1/$1, at the Investors and Exporters window, where forex is traded officially. Naira started the week flat against the US dollar at N415.1/$1 on Monday 15th November 2021, the same as recorded in the previous trading session.
In the same vein, naira remained flat at the parallel market as it closed at N545/$1 on Monday, which is the same as recorded on Friday. The exchange rate gained massively in the previous week to N535 to a dollar from N570/$1. This is according to information obtained from BDC operators interviewed by Nairametrics.
Nigeria’s foreign reserve declined by 0.06% on Friday, 12th November 2021 to close at $41.51 billion, representing a $26.79 million drop compared to $41.53 billion recorded as of the previous day.
Read: Naira gets stronger as traders record $9.5 billion turnover at official forex window since September
Trading at the official NAFEX window
The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed flat against the US dollar on Monday, 15th November 2021 to close at N415.1/$1, the same as recorded in the previous day.
The opening indicative rate closed at N413.74/$1 on Monday, indicating a 65 kobo appreciation compared to N414.39/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
An exchange rate of N453.75 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N415.1/$1, while it sold for as low as N404/$1 during intra-day trading. The highest rate recorded on Monday is the highest on record.
Read: Why we fall for forex scams
Forex turnover at the official window improved by 52.6% to $138.37 million on Monday.
According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window increased from $90.7 million recorded on Friday, 12th November 2021 to $138.37 million on Monday, 15th November 2021.
Cryptocurrency watch
The global crypto market started the day on a bearish note, characterised by huge sell-offs from Bitcoin and Ethereum holders. The crypto market capitalisation dipped 4.34% in the early hours of Tuesday as investors lost over $120.1 billion.
Bitcoin also dipped 4.24% to trade at $60,906, despite rallying close to $69,000 in the previous week. Similarly, Ethereum recorded a 4.77% decline as of 7am on Tuesday to trade at $4,346.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s peer-to-peer transactions in the crypto market reduced by 43% to $9.4 million in the previous week, followed by Kenyans and South Africans with nearly $2.8 million and $1.8 million respectively.
Peer to peer in BTC refers to an exchange of BTC between parties (such as individuals) without involving a central authority. Peer to peer exchange of Bitcoins between individuals and groups takes a decentralized approach but still, a growing number of Nigerians use their banks to settle in cash while carrying out their P2P trading.
Read: MAN applauds CBN’s decision to withdraw forex from BDCs
Crude oil price
On the other hand, the global crude oil market started the day on a positive note, after enduring multiple bearish trades in the past week. As of the time of writing this article Brent was trading at $82.9 per barrel, indicating a gain of 1.04%, while West Texas Intermediate gained 0.8% to trade at $81.5 per barrel.
In the same vein, Natural gas gained 1.2% to trade at $5.077. Meanwhile, Bonny Light dipped 1.33% to trade at $80.67 per barrel, while Brass River and Qua Iboe both dipped 0.78% to trade at $81.38 per barrel.
External reserve
Nigeria’s foreign reserve declined yet again by 0.06% to close at $41.51 billion as of Friday, 12th November 2021 compared to $41.53 billion recorded as of the previous day.
The nation’s foreign reserve had gained $5.04 billion in the month of October, as a result of the $4 billion raised by the federal government from the issuance of Eurobond in the international debt market. The gains recorded in the previous month is higher than the $2.76 billion gain recorded in the month of September 2021, while the recent decrease puts the year-to-date gain at $6.13 billion.
So far in the month of November, Nigeria’s reserve has lost $312.29 million.
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