Fakoyejo Olalekan
The FMDQ Exchange disclosed that the official exchange rate between the naira and the dollar rose on Thursday, 19 January 2023, as the local currency closed weak.
According to data published by the exchange rate tracker, the dollar exchanged for the naira at N461.50/$1 after the trading session.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe naira depreciated by –0.05 per cent, while the cost to buy the United States currency grew by N0.25 kobo in the Investors and Exporters window of the official market.
FMDQ Exchange reported that the rate had risen as high as N462 per one dollar, and fell as low as N440/$1, before settling at N461.50/$1, against the N461.25/$1 it closed with on Wednesday, 18 January 2023.
During trading in the Investors and Exporters window, the total value of transactions appreciated by 292.2 per cent to $217.86 million.
This represents an increase of $162.32 million when the value of transactions on Thursday were compared to the $55.54 million transacted during the previous day.
Despite the increase in supply on Thursday, the naira shed part of its value to the dollar. This will further raise the cost of goods imported into the country.
Note that traders that can’t afford to buy the United States currency in the black market due to the premium price often approach the official market backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
However, with foreign exchange scarcity in the official market, importers are also purchasing forex in the black market, where the forex is N280 above the market price in the Investors and Exporters window.
On Friday, 20 January, the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira in the black market was reported at N746/$1 by some online publication, against the N748/$1 recorded on the previous day.
Meanwhile, the difference in the exchange rate in the official channel and the black market has been projected to drop by the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Co Ltd, Bismark Rewane.
