Naira strengthens at parallel market, depreciates in official window

The naira, on Friday, appreciated to N1,470 per dollar at the parallel section of the market.

The current FX rate is a 2 percent increase from the N1,500 recorded on March 20.

Currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N1,430 and the selling price at N1,470 — leaving a profit margin of N40.

Speaking to TheCable on Friday, currency traders said the recent appreciation of the local currency led to a reduction in customers.

“We don’t have customers like before and some BDC traders who bought the currency when the price was high would rather keep it,” a trader who identified as Abdullahi said

“The rate was also not stable today.”

At the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees official foreign exchange (FX) trading in Nigeria, the local currency dropped by 3.58 percent to N1,431.49/$ on Friday — from N1,382/$ on March 21.

The dollar rate rose as high as N1,468, while the lowest rate for the day was N1,301 at the official market.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on March 20, said it successfully settled all outstanding foreign exchange (FX) obligations.

Consequently, on March 21, foreign airlines in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), asked the apex bank to provide details on the payment, especially to foreign airlines.