The Dollar to Naira exchange rate in the black market rose to N1,670 per Dollar on Thursday, 19th December from N1,650 per Dollar it closed on Wednesday, 18th December 2024.
Operators via AbokiFX are buying the Dollar for as low as N1,680 and as high as N1,720.
This comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) operations continue to impact the market.
The rate at the official market closed at N1,554 per Dollar as of December 18 according to quotes on the FMDQ Securities Limited website.
In a related development, President Bola Tinubu has set a N1500 per Dollar target in the 2025 Appropriation Bill presented to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to him, the target was to enable the Federal Government to ensure the smooth implementation of the 2025 budget.
This marks a reduction of about N200 from the current rate of N1,700 to a Dollar.
“The budget projects that inflation will decline from the current rate of 34.6 percent to 15 percent next year, while the exchange rate will improve from approximately N1,700 per dollar to N1,500. The base crude oil production assumption is set at 2.06 million barrels per day,” he said.
According to the president, these projections were based on reducing the importation of petroleum products, increasing exports of refined petroleum products, and achieving a bumper harvest driven by enhanced security, which he added will reduce reliance on food imports.
“Additionally, we aim to increase foreign exchange inflows through foreign portfolio investments,” he said as he presented the N47.90 trillion budget.