December 31, 2024
Naira depreciated by 0.30%, closing at N1,538.55 per US dollar in the official market, naira slid against the US dollar is as a result mild demand pressure.
According to Marketforce Africa, demand for foreign currency grew at a higher speed than the amount available to settle transactions.
The exchange rate fluctuation had eased following aggressive FX sales to banks. Rates have diverged strongly between the official and parallel market. The local currency retreated due to year end demand in the official market.
Channel checks, revealed the naira exchange rate ended the day at ₦1,670 per US dollar in the parallel market, thus extending the gap between the official and parallel market rates with about N132 per each US dollar.
The huge exchange rates gap or FX spread has further created a huge opportunity for speculative currency activities in the market. Data from the Apex Bank showed that gross balance in the nation’s external reserves climbed near about $40.9 billion.
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Due to rising optimism, analysts have projected that foreign reserves could climb to $41 billion following $2 billion FX swap deal between Nigerian and China as part of an efforts to cement bilateral trade agreement.
Oil prices tipped on Monday amidst global demand and supply uncertainties, with Brent Crude increasing by 0.97% to $73.97 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increasing 1.09% to $70.38 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold prices have stabilized in light trading as investors anticipated the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate plans and President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which could influence the metal’s direction next year.
