Naira Falls to N415 Against the Dollar at Official Market

On Tuesday, November 9th, 2021, the exchange rate of the naira against the dollar officially closed at N415.07 per dollar, at the Investors and Exporters window where the naira is officially traded.

The naira opened at N413.57 per dollar on Tuesday, appreciating very briefly after officially closing at N414.55 per dollar on Monday, November 8th 2021. The little rise in the value of the naira was unlikely to have sparked hopes of redemption for the fast-falling currency.

The investors and Exporters window also reported the Spot and Forward rates at which the naira closed against the dollar on Tuesday November 9th. For the Spot rate, the naira fell to as low as N444 per dollar, and rose to as high as N404 per dollar.

This means that for immediate transactions, the naira could have been traded against the dollar within the range of N404 – N444 per dollar. For the Forward rate, by the close of the day the naira was reported to have fallen to N453 per dollar, and it rose only to N411 per dollar.

This implies that parties looking to agree on a dollar price for future transactions could only trade between N411 per dollar and N453 per dollar, as at yesterday.

However, on the CBN official website, the naira closed at N411.34 per dollar on November 9th 2021. The apex bank set the selling value of the naira against the dollar at N411, and set the buying price at N410.34 per dollar, an ordinary N1 difference between the buying and selling prices.

Since the apex bank adjusted its exchange rate in August 2020, the rate listed on the website has been hovering around N410 per dollar. The rate listed on the CBN’s website has since been referred to as the official rate.

At the Parallel (black market), the naira is reported to have traded at a value of N570 per dollar. This rate is a mere N1 appreciation, compared against the N571 per dollar which it traded at on Monday, November 8th and Friday, November 6th 2021.