Naira Depreciates Marginally At Official Market Despite Forex Liquidity

The U.S Dollar to Naira exchange rate has depreciated considerably as the Dollar to Naira closed at N415.10/$1 at the Investors and Exporters window, where forex is traded officially.

Brand News Day reports that Nigeria’s Naira depreciated slightly on Thursday against the US dollar to close at N415.10/$1 as obtained in the earlier hour of Friday.

The Dollar to Naira depreciation represents a 0.01% loss when compared to the N415.07 that was recorded on Wednesday, 27th October 2021. The local currency was weakened at the official market despite a 79% increase in forex liquidity.

According to the information obtained by Brand News Day Nigeria from black market operators in Lagos, the naira appreciated against the US dollar on Thursday at the parallel market to close at N568/$1, representing an N2 gain when compared to the N570/$1 that was recorded as of the close of trading activities the previous day.

U.s Dollar To Naira Rate Trading at the official NAFEX window

This picture was taken on January 29, 2016, in Lagos shows 1000 naira banknotes, Nigeria’s currency.
Nigeria’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, on January 26 dismissed calls to devalue the naira in his monetary policy committee statement. Instead, he chose to continue propping up the currency at 197-199 naira to the dollar and maintain foreign-exchange restrictions. As a result, the naira on the black market is hovering around a record low of 305, fuelling complaints from domestic and foreign businesses who can’t access the dollars required for imports. / AFP / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

The exchange rate depreciated against the US dollar on Thursday, 28th October 2021 to close the day at N415.10 to a dollar, representing a 3 kobo drop when compared to N415.07/$1 recorded on Wednesday, 27th October 2021.

The opening indicative rate closed at N414.13/$1 on Thursday, representing a 31 kobo gain when compared to N414.44/$1 recorded in the previous trading day.

Naira Depreciates Marginally At Official Market Despite Forex Liquidity

An exchange rate of N444 to a dollar was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N415.10/$1, while it sold for as low as N405/$1 during intra-day trading.

Meanwhile, forex turnover at the official window rose by 78.9% on Thursday, 28th October 2021.

According to data tracked by Nairametrics from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window increased from $147.44 million recorded on Wednesday to $263.70 million on Thursday 28th October 2021.