Dollar Rate Drops In Black Market, Rises To N461 In CBN-Backed Channel

The dollar rate in the official market increased on Thursday by 0.07 per cent as traders reduced the volume of transactions by 27.48 per cent.

On December 29, foreign exchange trading record obtained from FMDQ Securities showed that the exchange rate between the naira and dollar was N461.67/$1.

This is slightly above the N461.33/$1 both the Nigerian currency and the United States legal tender exchanged for during the previous trading session – indicating the naira depreciated in value by 0.07 per cent.

It was gathered that at some point during intra-day trading, the exchange rate rose as high as N462/$1 and as low as N440 per dollar in the official market backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This followed the reduction in value of transactions in the Investors and Exporters window of the official market, where $142.19 million worth of forex was traded. 

It was 27.48 per cent lower than the $196.06 million that was recorded in the Investors and Exporters window on December 28, 2022. 

The naira continue to struggle against the US dollar due to the low foreign reserves which managed to increase from $36.966 billion on Wednesday to $37.075 billion the next day. 

Meanwhile, in the black market, Bureau De Change operators continue to record high demand for dollar despite selling at a premium rate.

Traders and individuals were reported to have bought the rate about N736/$1 on Friday. This means the black market rate maintained its over N200 difference compared to the official market.

Although the N736 dollar rate is lower than the N745/$1 exchange rate Bureau De Change operators said they were willing to sell the dollar on Thursday, and also below the N745 to N750 dollar rate issued on Wednesday.

Note that a Bureau De Change operator had informed Prime Business Africa that the forex is sold at a premium due to high demand among Nigerians travelling out of the country.