Naira Gains 9%, Closes ₦837/$ At Official Market

On Monday, the naira saw an appreciation, reaching ₦837.77 against the dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the official exchange rate platform in Nigeria.

This new rate marks a 9.64 per cent increase from the previous rate of ₦927.19 per dollar, recorded last Friday.

According to data from FMDQ Securities Exchange, which manages the official foreign exchange trading in Nigeria, the naira experienced a fluctuating day, hitting an intra-day high of ₦1,021 and a low of ₦701.

The opening rate for the day was ₦814.50, closing at ₦837.77 against the dollar.

At the parallel market, the naira traded for ₦1,170, against the dollar.

Currency traders, also known as Bureau De Change operators (BDCs), quoted the buying rate of the greenback at ₦1,160 and the selling price at ₦1,170 leaving a profit margin of ₦10.

This leaves a gap of ₦332.23 between the official and parallel markets’ exchange rates.

President Bola Tinubu and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have taken steps to unify the exchange rates in the official window and the parallel market.

CBN collapsed the multiple exchange rates in the official market to NAFEM, formerly known as the investors and exporters window, to unify the parallel and official market rates.

This resulted in a temporary convergence, however, the gap has since widened, with Monday’s closing rate revealing an exchange rate difference of ₦332.23 between the official and parallel markets.

Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, assured the apex bank is committed to achieving monetary and price stability in the country.