Naira has once again depreciated in value against the US dollar in the official and unofficial foreign exchange market. Data from FMDQ securities shows that the naira crashed to N1,520.40/$1 on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, on the official Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM)......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
The closing rate on Tuesday represents a 2.9% or N42.29 depreciation of the naira when compared to the previous day’s closing rate of N1,478.76/$1.
The pressure on the naira was clearly evident, as during intraday trading at the NAFEM window, some participants paid as high as N1,568 to purchase a dollar.
The poor performance of the naira occurred as forex markets went down by $88.88 million or 40.8% to $128.76 million compared to the previous day’s transaction level of $217.64 million.
It was different story for the naira against the pound sterling and the euro.
The CBN data showed the naira improved its value against the pound sterling in the official market by N59.52 during the trading day to quote at N1,767.62/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,827.14/£1.
Similarly, the naira gained N51.91 against the Euro to finish at N1,520.16/€1 versus N1,572.07/€1 it closed a day earlier.
Naira to dollar in the black market
In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the naira weakened against the dollar during the session, falling by N10 to sell at N1,530/$1.
This is in contrast to the previous day’s exchange rate of N1,520/$1.
CBN sells dollars cheaply to BDC operators
Earlier, Legit reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria again conducted another round of dollar sales to licensed Bureau De Change Operators.
The latest sale is part of the apex bank’s plan to ensure enough liquidity in the market and halt the naira’s fall.
The CBN has also fixed an exchange rate limit for the BDCs when selling to Nigerians seeking dollars.