Naira falls to N885 per dollar in parallel market

Naira on Thursday depreciated to a new low of N885 per dollar at the parallel market, popularly known as the black market.

The foreign exchange (FX) market closed on Thursday with naira weakening by 1.14 percent as the dollar traded at N885/$1 as against N875/$1 traded on Wednesday at the parallel market.

Traders attributed the naira depreciation to strong demand for dollars by importers and travelers.

Naira first weakened to N885 per dollar in November 2022 due to demand pressure at the black market.

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The pressure on naira continued at the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) forex window, Nigeria’s official FX market as naira also depreciated, losing 4.70 percent against the dollar.

After trading on Thursday, the dollar was quoted at the rate of N776.50/$1 from N741.64 quoted on Wednesday at the I&E window, data from the FMDQ showed.

Willing buyers and sellers maintained bids as high as N804 per dollar on Thursday, and Tuesday, which was stronger than N830/$1 on Monday, but weaker than N799.50/$1, on Friday.

The market auction also recorded lower bids of N700 per dollar on Thursday and Tuesday, weaker than N651.00 per dollar on Monday, but stronger than N465.00 bid on Friday at the I&E window.

The daily FX market turnover, which reflects the volume of transactions at the I&E window, declined by 34.01 percent to $44.43 million on Thursday from $67.33 million recorded on Tuesday.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.