Naira leaps as Dollar skids to 3-year low against peers

The Nigerian Currency on Thursday, January 25, surged against the United States of America Dollar at the parallel segment of the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market.

At the Black Market, the Naira traded at the rate of N363 against the Greenback. Against the British Pound Sterling the local currency traded at the rate of N505 and traded at the rate of N442 against the European Single Currency.

The Naira closed at N360.54 to the dollar at the investors’ window. Meanwhile, at the Bureau de Change, BDC, segment the naira traded at N362 to a dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N505 and N442, respectively.

At the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) window, the Naira traded at N305.65 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N431.97 and N377.08, respectively.

On the international scene, the Dollar slumped to a three-year low against its peers on Thursday, January 25, after caving on comments by U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin that he welcomed a weaker currency, while the euro was firm ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy decision.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stretched overnight losses to plumb 89.064, lowest since December 2014.

The greenback had already been on the defensive on trade protectionism worries fanned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose steep import tariffs on washing machines and solar panels earlier in the week.

The immediate focus was on the ECB’s policy setting meeting later in the global day as markets look for any signs that the central bank is worried about the rapidly appreciating euro.

The euro zone economy may be roaring ahead though the expectation is that a rapidly strengthening euro may see ECB President Mario Draghi pour cold water on the view the bank is speeding towards an interest rate hike.

Kuroda’s comments, however, did little to arrest the yen’s appreciation against a beleaguered dollar.

The Australian dollar traded at $0.8054 advanced to a four-month high of $0.8086.

The Canadian dollar reached C$1.2316 per dollar, its strongest since late September.

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A rally in crude oil prices has given an extra lift to commodity-linked currencies like the Australian and Canadian dollars.

The New Zealand dollar was 0.55 percent higher at $0.7381, but off a five-month peak of $0.7437 after data showed the country’s consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter.

Upbeat UK employment data, on the other hand, helped lift the pound to $1.4275, a fresh 1-1/2-year top.