Naira weakens to N773.4/$ at I&E window, N905/$ at parallel market

The naira, on Wednesday, depreciated by 0.35 percent to close at N773.4/$ at the investors and exporters (I&E) window.

Data from FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees foreign exchange (FX) trading in Nigeria, showed that the local currency opened with an exchange rate of N781.49 to the dollar and sold for an intra-day high of N799.9/$ before it settled at N773.4/$.

A total of $45.34 million in FX value was traded at the I&E window on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, at the parallel market where the dollar is traded unofficially, Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators who spoke to TheCable in the Victoria Island area of Lagos said there is still high demand for dollars from importers and travellers.

The traders put the buying price of the dollar at N885 and the selling price at N905, leaving a profit margin of N20.

“Demand is still high. The dollar has been going up too,” Muhammad, a currency trader in the market, told TheCable.

Last Friday, one dollar was sold for N865 at the parallel market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently released fresh operational mechanisms for the sale of forex by BDC operators within the country.

The development comes 25 months after Godwin Emefiele, the suspended CBN governor, announced the discontinuance of foreign exchange sales to that segment of the forex market.

Read TheCable explainer on what the return of the BDCs mean for the naira.