By Adedapo Adesanya
On Friday, June 19, the Nigerian Naira fell by N7.16, or 0.53%, to N1,370.46 per US dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), up from N1,363.30 per dollar the day before.
Similarly, the Naira slipped by N9.07 against the British pound, reaching N1,814.76 per pound, up from N1,805.69 per pound on Thursday, and dropped by N6.43 against the euro, closing at N1,571.50 per euro compared with N1,565.07 per euro the previous day.
In the black‑market segment, the Naira weakened by N5 to N1,390 per dollar, compared with N1,385 per dollar the prior day, while at the GTBank foreign‑exchange desk it fell by N3 to N1,376 per dollar from N1,373 per dollar.
Liquidity pressures in the official foreign‑exchange market have persisted over the past three trading sessions, driving a decline in the official exchange rate as demand for foreign currency payments rose.
Central Bank of Nigeria data show that foreign‑exchange reserves climbed to $51.03 billion, the highest level recorded since January 20, 2009, and the highest since the start of the year under the current governor, Mr. Yemi Cardoso.
This development highlights the ongoing strengthening of Nigeria’s external buffers, bolstering investor confidence in the economy and supporting exchange‑rate stability.
Cryptocurrency markets were mixed, with Bitcoin rising 0.8% to $63,225.80 after subdued trading activity linked to a U.S. federal holiday, when stock and bond markets were closed, although digital assets remain active 24/7.
TRON (TRX) added 0.8% to $0.3230, Binance Coin (BNB) rose 0.5% to $579.84, and Ethereum (ETH) increased 0.1% to $1,704.23.
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) fell 0.9% to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) dropped 0.8% to $0.1611, Solana (SOL) slipped 0.1% to $69.23, and Dogecoin (DOGE) eased 0.1% to $0.0831, while both USDT and USDC held steady at $1.00.
