The Nigerian currency, the Naira, has experienced a depreciation against the US Dollar in both the official and black markets due to weakening demand pressure.
Gatekeepers News reports that despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) implementing various policies to bolster foreign exchange supply, the NAFEM data shows the official forex trading platform recorded a 4.1% decrease in the local currency, closing at N1,479.47 to a dollar after trading hours.
This marks a significant drop of N60.69 compared to the previous closing rate of N1,418.78 on Wednesday.
The intraday high recorded was N1504/$1, while the intraday low was N946.82/$1, representing a wide spread of N557.18/$1. Forex turnover at the close of trading was $321.23 million, a 57.52% increase compared to the previous day, according to data obtained from the official NAFEM window.
External reserves remained at just about $33 billion from $32.9 billion at the start of the year. The closing exchange rate on the official market crossed N1400/$1 on the 30th of January 2024 and has remained above this since then. The intra-day high rate has been above N1,500 for the 8th straight day.
In the parallel market, where the exchange rate is sold unofficially, the dollar sold for as high as N1,500/$1 with the £1/N1,890 and the EUR1/N1,600. The parallel market has also remained at about N1400/$1 since January 25, 2024, and hit N1,500 on February 2nd, 2024.
In the cryptocurrency market, forex is sold using stablecoins. As of late on Thursday, the exchange rate was N1,489/$1. The cryptocurrency market crossed N1,400 on January 25, 2024, and has remained closer to N1500/$1 since then.
