Naira appreciates by 4% to N844/$ at official market

The naira on Tuesday appreciated against the dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), known as the official market.

Naira rose by 4.90 percent to close at N844.85 to a dollar on Monday — from N888.35 recorded the close of trading on Monday.

According to data on FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees official FX trading in Nigeria, the naira was quoted as high as N1,189.12 per dollar and as low as N720 during the intra-day trading.

At the parallel section of the market, the naira dropped to N1,225 losing 2.51 percent or N30, from the N1,195 it traded two weeks ago.

Currency traders, known as Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in Lagos, quoted the buying rate at N1,205 and the selling price at N1,225 — leaving a profit margin of N20.

“The end of the year period is usually known for higher dollar demand,” Aliyu, a black market currency trader, told TheCable.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had said the foreign exchange market will stabilise in 2024.

“Exchange rate pressures are also expected to reduce significantly with the smooth functioning of foreign exchange market,” he said.

Cardoso said his assumptions are based on the outlook for the country’s economy in 2024 which “is very positive”. 

Cardoso’s stance was also backed by Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer (CEO) of Financial Derivatives, who said Nigeria’s exchange rate is expected to appreciate as inflation drops in 2024.