Naira recovers slightly against dollar at I&E window, closes at N795.2/$

The naira, on Monday, recorded a slight gain of N8.62 to close at N795.28 per dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window.

The I&E foreign exchange (FX) window is the market trading segment for investors, exporters and end-users that allows for FX trades to be made at exchange rates determined based on prevailing market circumstances. It is the country’s official FX market.

The local currency, which fell consistently throughout last week against the United States dollar, had tumbled to an all-time low of N803.9/$ last Friday.

The naira is yet to gain stability following changes implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the FX market.

Meanwhile, at the parallel/black market where the dollar is traded unofficially, the naira fell to N827 per dollar.

Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators in the Victoria Island area of Lagos told TheCable that they buy the greenback for N815, make a gain of N12, then sell at N827.

The traders said demand for the greenback was high on Monday.

“We don’t have enough dollars in the market now. I guess people need it to import goods or pay school fees abroad because demand is very high,” a currency trader in the market said.

The CBN has constantly maintained that the parallel market represents less than one percent of forex transactions and should never be used to determine the exchange rate.

Last week, Wema Bank lifted the suspension of international transactions on naira cards.

The development means customers can now make international purchases using their naira cards.

Other banks are yet to follow suit.