Victor Ezeja
The naira further appreciated at the official market on Friday to end the week on a positive note.
The naira exchanged N1,631.21 against the dollar on Friday, 4th October, according to the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) data published on the FMDQ Securities and Exchange platform.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis reflects N28.08 or 1.69 per cent gain when compared to Thursday’s closing rate of N1,659.26 per dollar at the official market.
This is despite a drop in dollar supply on Friday. According to data on the FMDQ platform, the FX turnover dropped from $450.39 million on Thursday to $238.36 million on Friday, representing a 47.07 per cent decrease.
Also, the naira appreciated at the parallel market also known as the black market, gaining N10 as the exchange rate dropped from N1,680 recorded on Thursday to N1,670 on Friday.
READ ALSO: Black Market Dollar (USD) To Naira (NGN) Exchange Rate Today, 5th October 2024
On a week-on-week analysis, the naira lost N90.43 representing 5.87 per cent when compared to last week’s closing rate of N1,540.78/$. At the close of trading on Monday, the local currency slightly depreciated to N1,541.94. Coming after the October 1 public holiday, the naira recorded a massive loss as it exchanged N1669.15 per dollar just as dollar supply to the market dropped to $176.45 million on the same day. However, as the dollar supply surged to $450.39 million on Thursday (the highest in the last four months), the naira appreciated.
As foreign exchange volatility persists, the Central Bank of Nigeria has continued to adopt various measures to regulate the market and stabilise the naira. It had on different occasions intervened by selling dollars to Bureau de Change operators and authorised FX dealer banks in attempts to boost FX liquidity in the market.
Prime Business Africa reports that in a bid to promote transparency and curb speculation in FX transactions, the apex bank has introduced what it called Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) for FX transactions in the Nigeria Foreign exchange market.
The CBN also introduced a fresh Foreign Exchange Code as guidelines to eligible players in the country’s FX market to stabilise the Naira.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
