Fakoyejo Olalekan
Foreign exchange traders recorded a slight increase in the price of the United States Dollar (USD) in the official market on Wednesday, as the rate rose to N773.42/$1 from N770.72/$1 rate.
However, that was not the only rate offered in the official market, as investors and exporters were also offered the dollar at a rate of N799.90/$1 and N700/$1, both of which are the highest and lowest rates of the day.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAlso, supply of the foreign exchange dropped in the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window, declining from $112.22 million worth of forex traded on Tuesday to $45.34 million.
This is a decrease of 147.50 per cent or $66.88 million in the value of foreign exchange transactions recorded in the last two days in the official market, according to analysis of data obtained from FMDQ Exchange.
Also, the gap between the official window and the black market’s dollar rates widened to N127.58 kobo, from N96.78 kobo after the naira significantly depreciated in the parallel channel.
This followed the N33.5 kobo increase in the price of the dollar in the black market, as the foreign exchange dealers sold the American greenback at the average cost of N901/$1.
The naira depreciated by 11.15 per cent against the dollar, as both the Nigerian and United States currencies had exchanged at an average rate of N867.5/$1 the day before.
Likewise, the United Kingdom currency, the pound, was also placed on sale at a higher price of N1163.6/£1 in the parallel market, rising by N38.3 kobo when compared to Tuesday’s N1125.3/£1.
The euro followed the footsteps of the dollar and the pound, as the value of the European currency was raised by N26.9 kobo during trading to sell at an average rate of N988.2/€1, up from N961.3/€1.
