Naira Falls Against Dollar At Black Market, Ends Week Negative

Nigeria’s currency, the naira, depreciated at the parallel market, also known as the black market, on Friday, ending the week on a negative note.

The naira exchanged N1,635 against the dollar on Friday, 16 May, reflecting a N10 (0.62 per cent) depreciation on a day-to-day basis when compared to N1,625 recorded on Thursday.

However, the naira recorded slight appreciation at the official market on Friday. According to data on the Central Bank of Nigeria website, the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) rate was N1,598.72. This means the naira rose by N0.6 from N1,599.32 against the dollar on Thursday.

The CBN data shows that the naira traded between N1,603.50 and N1,597.00 on Friday.

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Prime Business Africa reports that the naira experienced fluctuation within the week. After opening the week on a positive note at N1,600 per dollar on Monday, against N1,606 per dollar the previous Friday, the naira depreciated slightly on Tuesday to N1,600.30 per dollar at the official market. It, however, strengthened to N1,596.70 on Wednesday, before falling to N1,599.32 on Thursday.

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On a week-on-week basis, the naira gained N7.43 against the dollar at the official market.

The CBN has continued to apply various monetary measures to stabilise the naira in the foreign exchange market.