The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at both the official and parallel foreign exchange market segments on Wednesday, October 30.

The Naira dropped 0.04 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) The local currency lost 72 Kobo to close at N1,631.17/$1 at the official window.

According to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange compared to N1,630.45/$1 published in the preceding session on Tuesday.

This happened as supply decreased at the FX market as secondary data showed that $128.98 million worth of turnover was recorded compared to the preceding session which $242.59 million was settled. This indicated a $113.61 million or 46.9 per cent slump.

In the black market, the Naira lost N4.08 against the greenback to close at N1,718.43 to the US Dollar compared to N1,714.35/$1 it closed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the midweek session for the week. For the British currency, the local currency appreciated by N18.57 and closed at N2,143.40/£1 from N2,161.97/£1 while it closed at the rate of N1,782.07/€1, a jump of N18.90 against N1,800.97/€1 against the Euro.

In a different outcome in the black market, the domestic currency headed south against the British currency during the midweek session as the Naira made a depreciation of N9.38 to wrap the session at N2,234.62/£1 from N2,225.24/£1 that it sold at the previous session

However, the Naira followed a different pattern against the Euro as it appreciated N15.38 to quote at N1,854.56/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,856.79/€1.

The local currency dropped N2.31 to close at N1,235.70 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Tuesday’s N1,233.56 per CAD.

The supply challenge in the FX market comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to filter sales into the market alongside recommendations from the World Bank.

The US-headquartered bank in its latest report noted that permitting market participants to trade FX with more flexibility across time would also contribute to deepening the FX market, adding that the CBN should continue efforts towards deepening the official FX market.

This includes facilitating formal remittance inflows, allowing international oil companies to fully concentrate their FX sales in the official market, restoring intermediated market access to bureaux de change, and refraining from ad-hoc FX auctions.

“Allowing market participants to trade FX with more flexibility across time would also contribute to deepening the FX market,” the October report said.

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar in the black market but appreciated in the official market on Tuesday on improved FX supply.

In the black market, the Naira lost N15.02 against the greenback to close at N1,714.35 to the US Dollar compared to N1,699.33/$1 it closed on Monday.

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar pulling a 2.4 percent gain in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) as it gained a value of N40.20 to close the closing session at N1,630.45/$1 at the official window.

According to data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, compared to N1,670.65/$1 published in the preceding session on Monday.

This indicated a wider gap of N83 between both values at the different segments.

Turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $242.59 million indicating that the session’s turnover rose by 198.9 percent, indicating that there was a decrease of $161.42 million compared to $8.17 million published the previous day.

However, the domestic currency headed south against the British currency during the session as the Naira made a depreciation of N34.26 to wrap the session at N2,161.97/£1 from N2,127.71/£1 that it sold at the previous session.

The local currency also dropped against the Euro as it closed at N1,800.97/€1 versus N1,774.13/€1, indicating a N26.84 depreciation.

The local currency also declined in its value against the British currency in the black market as it dropped by N19.32 to sell at N2,225.24/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,205.92/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it depreciated N15.38 to quote at N1,856.79/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,841.41/€1.

The local currency dropped N2.31 to close at N1,233.56 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Monday’s N1,231.25 per CAD.

The FX market will be expecting a boost after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to boost local currency financing for Nigerian businesses, a move that can boost FX supply.

The apex bank disclosed that the collaboration is set to channel over $1 billion in financing across the coming years to drive economic growth, job creation, and diversification across Nigeria.

The Naira declined N70.65 against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to exchange at N1,670.65/$1 on Monday after Dollar liquidity in the currency market slid heavily.

The domestic currency depreciated by 4.4 percent versus N1,600.00/$1 it closed in the previous session on Friday.

The Naira has seen volatile levels this year as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not been able to constantly sell FX to the market. In the last two months, the apex bank has erratically supplied FX sales to the market.

The CBN has announced plans to fix this as the governor of the apex bank, Olayemi Cardoso, has said Nigeria will attract $1 billion in diaspora remittances in 2025.

The apex bank said the concerns raised by international money transfer operators have been addressed and also introduced other banking products that would help in “increasing the inflows to $1 billion monthly,”

Cardoso also said monthly inflows from this channel have risen from $250 million in April to $600 million in September.

Data showed a slump in supply as the turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $81.17 million indicating that the session’s turnover dropped 71.5 per cent, suggesting that there was a decline of $203.76 million compared to the $284.93 million that was published in the last trading session.

However, the Naira witnessed gains against the Pound Sterling and the Euro. It rose N4.58 on the British currency to wrap the session at N2,127.71/£1 from N2,132.29/£1 that it sold at the previous session. In the same trend, against the Euro, the Nigerian currency gained N5.95 and closed at N1,774.13/€1 versus N1,768.18/€1.

In the black market, the Naira lost N10.02 against the greenback to close at N1,699.63 to the US Dollar compared to N1,689.61/$1 it closed on Friday.

The local currency also dropped in value against the British currency in the black market as it slid by N1.77 to sell at N2,205.92/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,204.15/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it depreciated N1.07 to quote at N1,841.41/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,840.34/€1.

However, the local currency gained N3.91 to close at N1,231.15 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Friday’s N1,235.06 per CAD.