Dollar to Naira today rose to N416.45 as the Nigerian Naira dipped slightly at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulated forex section.
The local currency, however, improved against the Pounds Sterling from N545.7693 it exchanged on Friday to N542.676 on Tuesday morning. Similarly, against the Euro common currency, the Nigerian Naira exchanged at N455.8045, an improvement from N458.5128 it exchanged.
At the unregulated black market, Dollar to Naira today exchanged at N581/$, the same rate it exchanged on Monday.
Forex Reserves
Nigeria’s foreign reserves stood at $39.755 billion after declining by $129.210 in the last seven days. Nigeria continues to grapple with the rising cost of servicing debts, subsidies, and increasing demand for forex.
The foreign reserves stood at $39.871 billion on March 4, 2022 before dropping to $39.768 billion on March 9, 2022. This decline continues even with Brent crude oil, the international benchmark for Nigeria’s type of crude oil, trading at a 14-year high of $130.68 a barrel.
By March 10, 2022, the reserves had taken another hit to $39.755 billion and presently hovering around $39.742 billion.
Crude Oil
Oil prices plunged to their lowest in three weeks after Russia made it clear it was in support of the revival of Iran’s nuclear deal. A Reuters source claimed Moscow is in favour of the Iran nuclear deal resuming as soon as possible.
This, coupled with the ongoing peace talk between Ukraine and Russia plunged Brent crude oil to $98 a barrel, an 8.3% decline.
Still, uncertainty remains as the U.S Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates later this week. This increase would strengthen the U.S Dollar and weigh on oil prices.
Cryptocurrency
Trading in the cryptocurrency space remained largely subdued amid growing concerns over rate increases. An increase in interest rate generally impacts capital inflow into the cryptocurrency space.
Bitcoin to Naira stood at N16.140 million at the time of writing, representing a 0.8% increase in value. Ethereum, the second most capitalised cryptocurrency shed 1.22% to N1.56 million.
