Victor Ezeja
Nigerian naira further appreciated both at the official and parallel windows of the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The local currency closed trading at the official market on Tuesday, 24 December at N1,537 per dollar. This is a marginal appreciation when compared to Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,538, according to data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Naira began the week on Monday on a positive note when compared to Friday’s closing rate of N1,542 per dollar at the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
At the parallel market, also known as black market, the naira recorded a massive appreciation against the dollar. The exchange rate dropped to N1,640 from N1,655 per dollar the previous day.
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This comes as Nigeria declared three days public holidays to mark this year’s Christmas celebration and New Year.
The CBN has continued to introduce measures to ensure stability of the naira in the foreign exchange. To boost liquidity in the FX market during the Yuletide season, the apex bank last week issued a circular, announcing a temporal access for all existing Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to the NFEM for the purchase of a maximum of $25,000 weekly. The purchase window which began on 19 December will last till 30 January 2025. Under this temporary arrangement, BDCs are allowed to purchase FX from authorised dealers at the prevailing NFEM rate and sell at a spread of 1 per cent to retail end-users. The measure is to meet expected seasonal demands for FX and manage price volatility.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government which recently proposed N49.7 trillion budget for the 2025 fiscal year targets an exchange rate of N1,500 per dollar.
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.
