The Nigerian currency, the naira, has recorded a strong performance against the US dollar in the black market and also in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) window.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the naira appreciated against the United States dollar to N1,509.04/$1.
Thursday’s exchange rate shows a 53 Kobo or 0.04% improvement increase in the US dollar compared to the previous day’s closing rate of N1,509.57/$.
It was a different story for the naira against the pound sterling and the euro in the official market.
Naira lost 63 kobo against the pound sterling in the official market during the session to sell for N1,901.09/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,900.46/£1.
While against the euro, it lost N1.27 to trade at N1,574.83/€1 versus Wednesday’s N1,576.10/€1.
Based on CBN published rates, here is a breakdown of naira’s performance against other foreign currencies in the NAFEM market.
In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the naira improved against the dollar, pound and also in the euro.
Traders who spoke to TimesNow.com.ng confirmed that the US dollar buying rate is now below N1,500.
The CBN, in its communique after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday, outlined the benefits of a stronger naira.
According to the MPC, the narrowing gap between the NFEM and the Bureau de Change (BDC) rates is a key achievement.
The Committee urged the Bank to sustain efforts to enhance market liquidity and acknowledged recent initiatives such as the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (B-Match) and the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Code.
Part of the communique reads:
TimesNow.com.ng reported that Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Company, has restated that the naira current exchange rate is undervalued by 27.81%.
Rewane also said that he expects the naira at N1,550/$, while the black market rate is expected to close at N1,600/$ in the parallel market by Q1 2025.
The renowned economist also spoke on the importance of forex inflows from different sources, such as the creative industry, to stabilise the naira.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
