The exchange rate of the Nigerian Naira to the United States Dollar dropped at the official foreign exchange window on Thursday, September 08, 2022.

The Naira opened the day at N433.75 to a United States Dollar before closing at N436.32, representing a decline of N2.57, or 0.04 percent.

Activity at the Investors and Exporters foreign exchange window declined by 54.45% on Thursday as currency traders exchanged $37.50 million in transactions, down from $82.33 million transacted on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, at the interbank section of the foreign exchange managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Naira traded at N427.76 on Thursday. The British Pounds Sterling and Euro were sold at N494.02 and N428.5727, respectively. See the buying rates below.

On the black market, the exchange rate remained under pressure and continued to be high compared to the central bank rates. The Naira was traded at N677 to a United States Dollar on Thursday.

Dollar illiquidity continued to dictate the Naira to US Dollar exchange rate as dwindling foreign reserves amid weak crude oil production continued to drag on revenue generation.

Crude Oil

Crude prices edged up about 1% on Thursday after dropping to a seven-month low in the prior session as some technical traders bought the dip and Russia threatened to halt oil and gas exports to some buyers.

Brent crude oil rose $1.15, or 1.3%, to settle at $89.15 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude grew by $1.60, or 2.0%, to settle at $83.54.

U.S. crude stockpiles surged by nearly 9 million barrels last week due to a combination of increased imports and ongoing releases from government emergency reserves, the Energy Information Administration said.

“Most of that oil in that build came from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The quicker we empty out the SPR, the bigger the draws are going to be in the future,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin continues to trade below $20,000 per coin as the Ethereum merge gets closer.

On Thursday, Ethereum appreciated by 4.12% to $1,633.40 per coin while Bitcoin also appreciated by 1.09% to $19,210.13 per coin. Binance token, BNB appreciated by 4.51% to $279.43 per coin.