Monday, November 1, 2021: At the official Investors and Exporters window, the Naira and the US dollar exchange rate closed at N414.98/$1. On Monday, November 1st, 2021, the Naira strengthened versus the US dollar, closing at N414.98/$1, up 0.03 percent from the N415.1/$1 reported at the close of trade activity on Friday.
On the other side of the Naira and the US dollar exchange, the naira fell by 0.88 percent against the US dollar in the parallel market on Monday, closing at N570/$1 vs N565/$1 at the close of trading on Friday, October 29th, 2021. According to data gathered by Daily Episode from BDC operators in Lagos, Kano, and Abuja, this is the case.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign reserve fell for the first time in over two months on Friday, October 29th, 2021, closing at $41.82 billion, a dip of $8.8 million in the reserve position. On Friday, the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell by 0.02 percent from the previous day’s total of $41.828 billion.
Trading at the NAFEX official window
On Monday, November 1st, 2021, the exchange rate against the US dollar increased to N414.98/$1, up from N415.1/$ in the previous trading session. This equates to an increase in the exchange rate of 0.03 percent.
On Monday, the opening indicative rate closed at N414.12/$1, representing a 37 kobo increase over the previous trading day’s rate of N414.49/$1.
Over intra-day trading, the highest rate of N444 to a dollar was reported before it closed at N414.98/$1, while it traded for as low as N404/$1 during the same period.
Meanwhile, on Monday, November 1st, 2021, FX turnover at the official window increased by 71.4 percent compared to the previous day.
Forex turnover at the I&E window jumped from $93.71 million on Friday to $160.64 million on Monday, November 1, 2021, according to statistics tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ.
Cryptocurrency watch
The cryptocurrency market ended Monday’s trading session on a gloomy note, falling 0.08 percent to $2.62 trillion, suggesting a minor loss of $2.21 billion to crypto investors, after a similar loss the previous trading session.
On Monday, Bitcoin fell 1.1 percent to settle at $60,683.63, while Ethereum rose 0.25 percent to $4,299.39. On the other side, on Monday, November 1st, 2021, XRP fell 2.1 percent to $1.08991.
Nigeria had the highest percentage of cryptocurrency ownership globally, with 24.2 percent, according to the latest Finder Cryptocurrency Adoption Index for the month of October 2021. In addition, men are 1.7 times more likely than women to own Bitcoin, according to the report. Similarly, 66.5 percent of people who possess cryptocurrency in the country own Bitcoin.
Crude oil price
Brent Crude oil rose 0.84 percent to $84.42 a barrel on Monday, November 1, 2021, compared to $83.72 at the end of the previous trading session. Similarly, West Texas Intermediate gained 0.32 percent on Monday to close at $83.84 per barrel.
Natural gas, on the other hand, fell 4.42 percent to $5.186 per 1,000 cubic feet, while heating oil rose 0.98 percent to $2.503.
Bonny Light crude from Nigeria gained 0.54 percent to close at $83.5 per barrel, while Brass River and Qua Iboe crude both fell 0.47 percent to settle at $83.04 per barrel.
In the meantime, oil and natural gas host communities in Ogoni, Rivers State, have written to the Federal Government, requesting that all oil-impacted communities that have been displaced as a result of the region’s high level of environmental degradation be resettled before any oil exploration activities can resume.
The market remains positive, with OPEC+ expected to meet on November 4th, as output cuts are expected to support a steady rise in oil prices.
External reserve
Nigeria’s foreign reserve fell for the first time in over two months, falling 0.02 percent to close at $41.82 billion on Friday, October 29th, 2021, compared to $41.83 billion at the end of the previous day.
Meanwhile, the country’s foreign reserve increased by $5.04 billion in October, owing to the $4 billion raised by the federal government through the issuance of Eurobonds in the international debt market. The monthly gain is greater than the $2.76 billion gain recorded in September 2021, while the recent increase brings the year-to-date gain to $6.46 billion.
With its current continuous gains, Nigeria’s foreign reserve position is on track to reach $42 billion, indicating more firepower to meet the FG’s pent-up obligations.
