The foreign exchange (forex) rate between the naira and the United States dollar appreciated in the official and black market on December 14, 2022.
Prime Business Africa reports that traders across the channels raised the
foreign exchange rate to N450.58/$1 in the official window and N743/$1 in the black market.
At the end of trading hours on Wednesday, the naira depreciated in value by 0.94 per cent, indicating the dollar rate rose by N4.2 to N450.58/$1, rising from the N446.38/$1 reported on Tuesday.
The fall in the value of the naira was on the back of forex supply increasing, as FX worth $141.92 million was traded in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window on Wednesday.
This reflects an increase of 96.7 percent, or $69.77 million in supply, according to
data obtained from FMDQ securities, considering $72.15 million was the value of forex transacted on December 12.
Similarly, the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira in the black market rose, but slightly, as one dollar exchanged hands at the cost of N743, up from the N742/$1 reported during the previous session.
Nigerian banks to start releasing new naira notes
The dollar gained against the Nigerian currency a day before banks in the country will start releasing the redesigned naira notes.
On Thursday, Nigerians will obtain the
new naira notes unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari last month, to commence the phase-out of the old currency.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the old naira notes will cease to be the country’s legal tender starting from January 31, 2023.
There have been complaints regarding the phase-out timeframe, with fear that people in rural areas in Nigeria will lose their hard-earned money due to a lack of awareness.
However, the central bank has insisted on phasing out the old naira notes at the end of January next year, stating that there are many banking agent centers in unbanked locations, like rural areas, for them to deposit their old notes.