The Dollar to Naira exchange rate in the black market rose to N1,620 per Dollar on Saturday, 28th December from N1,640 per Dollar it closed on Friday, 27th December 2024.
Operators via AbokiFX are buying the Dollar for as low as N1,600 and as high as N1,650.
The rate at the official market closed at N1,538 per Dollar as of December 27 according to quotes on the FMDQ Securities Limited website.
The local currency firmed up this month due to a decline in customer demand for forex. The country has continued to witness FX inflows from Nigerians in the diaspora, who returned to celebrate the period with their loved ones.
The pressure on the Naira will likely return as December activities wind down and the influx of FX from foreigners in the country is reducing, with more demand for the Dollar increasing now.
The Naira for most of December trended upward since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) launched on December 2.
The platform which set new guidelines for authorised Foreign Exchange (FX) dealers made it harder to sell at inflated rates to avoid CBN’s punishment.
Also, the CBN granted Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators temporary access to the official market as part of efforts to further strengthen the Naira in the currency market.
The CBN in a notice on Friday said BDC operators would have access to FX at the official market from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025, with a weekly cap of $25,000.
