Appreciates Marginally on Official Market

Nume Ekeghe

The naira appreciated slightly on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) yesterday, closing at N1,593.32 to a dollar, stronger than the N1,639 to a dollar it closed the previous day.

On the NAFEX window, the naira gained N45.98 to close at N1,639 to a dollar. However, the nation’s currency depreciated on the parallel market by N13 to close yesterday at N1,673/$1 compared to N1,660/$1 it exchanged on Thursday.

Daily transaction volumes saw an increase as the daily turnover increased 31.96 percent, reaching $245.17 million yesterday, compared to $185.79 million recorded on Thursday.

The highest spot rate observed yesterday was N1,665 while the lowest spot rate recorded was N1,580.
The naira had depreciated between Tuesday and Thursday, due to liquidity shortfall. The naira had lost around 70 percent of its value against the US currency since foreign exchange controls that had kept it artificially strong were lifted last year, Bloomberg had reported.
It found a degree of stability earlier in 2024 after the central bank took steps to shore it up, including aggressively raising interest rates, but has recently been back under pressure.