Naira appreciates to N1,550/$ at parallel market — strongest performance in seven months

The naira, Nigeria’s local currency, appreciated to N1,550 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. 

The latest record marks its strongest performance since July 9, 2024, when it traded at N1,540 to the greenback.

On Thursday, currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the dollar at N1,580 and the selling price at N1,550 — leaving a profit margin of N30.

TheCable observed that the naira started the month on a positive note, recording marginal appreciation against the dollar.

The FX rate was N1,603/$ on February 3, then fell to N1,593 on February 4, and N1,580 on February 5.

Compared to the N1,627/$ rate on January 30, the latest FX rate represents a 4.73 percent appreciation.

On the contrary, at the official section of the FX market, the local currency depreciated by 0.46 percent to N1,500/$ on Thursday — from N1,493/$ traded on January 30.

According to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees official FX trading in Nigeria, the greenback exchanged for as high as N1,504 and as low as N1,497 during trading hours.

As a result, the gap between the black market and the official window as of Thursday is now N50.

On December 20, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed the BDCs to purchase FX from banks from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.

However, CBN had extended the timeframe to May 30.

The financial regulator on February 6, introduced new regulations limiting BDC operators to purchasing a maximum of $25,000 per week from a single bank.

CBN mandated that BDCs must select a bank to procure their weekly FX allocation.