Friday, 26th November 2021: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N415.07/$1, at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. 

Naira closed flat against the US dollar on Friday at N415.07/$1, the same as recorded in the past two trading sessions. FOREX liquidity at the official market surged by 119.7% to $215.47 million from $98.07 million recorded in the previous day. 

Similarly, naira remained flat at the parallel market, as it closed at N560/$1 on Friday, the rate that was recorded in the previous trading session. This is according to information obtained from BDC operators interviewed by Nairametrics. 

Nigeria’s foreign reserve dropped yet again by 0.06% on Thursday, 25th November to close at $41.3 billion compared to $41.33 billion recorded as of the previous day. The recent decline in the nation’s external reserve is attributed to the intervention by the apex bank in the official forex market. 

Trading at the official NAFEX window 

The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed flat on Friday at N415.07/$1, the same as recorded in the past two days. Meanwhile, it had depreciated earlier in the week from N414.8/$1 recorded on Tuesday to close at N415.07/$1. 

The opening indicative rate closed at N413.71/$1 on Friday, which represents a 13 kobo fall compared to N413.58/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.  
An exchange rate of N444 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N415.07/$1, while it sold for as low as N404/$1 during intra-day trading.  
Forex turnover at the official window increased by 119.7% to $215.47 million on Friday.  
According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window surged from $98.07 million recorded on Thursday 25th November 2021 to $215.47 million on Friday 26th November 2021.  

Cryptocurrency watch 

The cryptocurrency market started the week on a positive note after enduring multiple declines in the previous week as financial markets all over the world sold off, as a result of panic selling by investors, caused by fear of a new COVID-19 strain, which has been found to be vaccine-resistant. 

As of the early hours of Monday, the crypto market capitalisation had gained marginally by 0.37% to stand at $2.537 trillion, triggered by the positive movement in the two most capitalised crypto assets. 

As of press time, Bitcoin had gained 0.14% to trade at $57,418.64, while Ethereum gained 0.78% to trade at $4,334.57. In the same vein, Solana gained 2.8% to trade at $206.55 while Terra dipped 3.52% to trade at $48.34. 

Crude oil price 

As a result of the new variant of the covid disease, the crude oil market traded bearish in the previous week, trading in the region of $70 per barrel, representing its lowest level since September 2021. However, the market has recorded a rebound in the early hours of Monday as Brent crude gain 3.78% to trade at $75.47 per barrel. 

Also, West Texas Intermediate gained 4.53% to trade at $71.24 per barrel. On the other hand, natural gas declined by 6.87% to $5.101. 

The market had been non-reactive to the announcement by the US government to release 50 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve, in a bid to drive the surging price of gasoline down.  However, with the new strain of the virus that has proven to be vaccine resistant, crude prices saw significant downturn in the previous week. 

The global market now turns to the OPEC+ meeting to see if the cartel will continue with its planned 400,000 supply increase into the market or react based on Joe Biden’s crude release or the new strain of the covid. 

External reserve 

Nigeria’s external reserve dipped by 0.06% on Thursday, 25th November 2021 to close at $41.3 billion, which represents a decline of $24.77 million compared to $41.33 billion recorded as of the previous day. 

The decline in the country’s reserve level can be attributed to the continuous intervention of the apex bank in ensuring the stability of the exchange rate. The exchange rate at the official window as remained stable in the past three trading sessions. 

It is worth noting that the nation’s foreign reserve had gained $5.99 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. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s reserve has now recorded a decline of $519.39 million so far in the month of November, while on a year-to-date basis, the reserves have gained $5.93 billion.