Naira Strengthens to N1,601/$1 at Official Market, Rises 3.2% on Dollar

The Naira appreciated 3.2 percent to N1,601.20 against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX).

The domestic currency gained N52.89 on the greenback versus N1,654.09/$1, which it closed in the previous session on Wednesday.

Data showed a rise in supply as the turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $230.99 million indicating that the session’s turnover jumped by 69 percent, indicating a rise of $94.31 million compared to $136.68 million that was published in the last trading session.

Equally, the Naira strengthened its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N7.16 to sell at N2,140.06/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,147.22/£1.

It followed the same route against the Euro as it appreciated N9.77 to quote at N1,780.16/€1 versus midweek’s rate of N1,789.93/€1.

Meanwhile, in the black market, the Naira lost 18 Kobo or 0.01 percent against the greenback to close at N1,706.61 to the US Dollar compared to N1,706.43/$1 it closed on Wednesday.

However, the local currency rose in value against the British currency in the black market as it rose by 20 Kobo to sell at N2,212.17/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,212.37/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it appreciated 71 Kobo to quote at N1,844.08/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,844.79/€1.

Meanwhile, the local currency further depreciated for the fourth straight day as it lost N4.82 to close at N1,237.83 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Wednesday’s N1,233.01 per CAD.

The development contradicts an analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which reported that the Nigerian Naira is stabilising due to interest rate hikes and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) clearance of foreign exchange backlogs.

“In Nigeria, rate hikes and clearing overdue domestic central bank foreign exchange obligations have helped the naira show more signs of stability,” stated the IMF in its global financial stability report.