Naira Appreciates To N1,240/Dollar In Parallel, Official Markets

The naira, the currency of Nigeria, strengthened to N1,240 per dollar at the close of trading on Wednesday in the parallel section of the Foreign Exchange (FX) market.

understands that the current FX rate signifies an increase of 0.80 percent from the N1,250/$ reported on April 1.

Currency traders, also known as street traders, in Lagos quoted the buying rate of the local currency at N1,220 and the selling rate at N1,240.

At the official window, the local currency appreciated by 1.25 percent against the dollar from N1,278.58 on April 2 to close at N1,262.85 on Wednesday.

During trading hours in the official window, a dollar was sold as high as N1,296 and at a low rate of N1,210, according to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

The daily foreign exchange market turnover was $166.18 million.

With the current figures at both FX markets, the official market rate surpasses the parallel market rate by N22.85.

Currency Traders Explain The Reasons Behind The Naira’s Appreciation And Project Future Events For April

Currency traders have shared their thoughts on why the Naira has been appreciating against the Dollar over the past few weeks.

According to data from FMDQ Securities, the indicative exchange rate for the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market closing below the N1,300 ceiling marks the first instance since January 26 of this year.

Speaking with Punch, currency dealers explained that the naira’s increase was caused by the apex bank’s decision to sell foreign exchange to operators and the declining demand for the US dollar.

Analysts at Afrinvest also predicted that the Naira would trade within a similar band in the month of April as the CBN continues its activities to mop up liquidity and attract more capital