Naira crosses 1600 mark, appreciates to 1,590 to dollar in black market

The naira on Wednesday appreciated to N1,590 per dollar, crossing the N1,600 psychological point in the black market.

Compared with the past month, the naira has gained 4.7 percent, rising by N75 from N1,665 traded at the beginning of the year in the parallel market, popularly called black market.

On Tuesday, the local currency closed flat at an average rate of N1,600 per dollar as against N1,599.33 quoted on Monday, at the black market.

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At the official foreign exchange (FX) market, the naira steadied at N1,499 per dollar at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the official FX platform of Africa’s fourth largest economy, data from the CBN showed.

Currency dealers attributed the naira appreciation to improved dollar supply and moderation in demand for the greenback, following Central Bank’s policies.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said, “notably the increased capital flows and relative stability in the foreign exchange market, alongside the narrowing of exchange rate disparities across different market segments, has been largely due to the bold tightening measures since the beginning of the year.