Declines Marginally to N1,533.97/$ on Officially, Now N1,630/$ on Parallel Market

Nume Ekeghe

The naira experienced a marginal decline after its recent rally, posting marginal depreciation at both the official and parallel markets.

At the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the currency closed at N1,533.97/$, marginally lower than Friday’s closing rate of N1,533.93/$. This was a N0.04, or 0.003 percent depreciation.

Also, on the parallel market, the naira depreciated to close at N1,630/$ compared to the N1,590/$  it stood over the weekend. This was a N40 or a 2.5 percent decline.

The marginal depreciation followed a remarkable week of appreciation at both markets. The naira at the official market at the start of NFEM started at N1,662.77/$ before it closed last Friday at N1,533.93/$.

Last week’s rally was largely attributed to a combination of factors, including Nigeria’s successful $2.2 billion Eurobond issuance and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), which has injected greater transparency and efficiency into the forex market.