Naira appreciates to N445 on black market

Nigeria’s currency appreciated to N445 per dollar on Friday gaining N16 from the peak of N461, at which the dollar was sold on Friday last week on the black market.

Against the previous day trading, Naira gained N5 over the dollar which traded at N450 on Thursday.

Investigation shows that there is dollar liquidity in the market as hoarders are bringing out dollars on hearing that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to resume sales to Bureau De Change (BDCs).

The CBN on April 29, 2020 resumed dollar sales for school fees and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Also, the regulator has made complete arrangements to resume foreign exchange sales to the BDC segment of the market for business travels, personal travels, and other designated retail uses, as soon as international flights resume.

The Apex bank on March 26, suspended foreign exchange sales to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators until further notice due to the Covid-19 lockdown as requested by the operators. The suspension notwithstanding, some BDCs are still active in the market.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, the foreign exchange market opened with an indicative rate of N387.25 per dollar on Friday. This indicates a marginal gain of N0.35k when compared with N387.60k opened with on Thursday, data from FMDQ revealed.

The CBN on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate to 12.5 percent from 13.5 percent. The move is to spur lending to the economy which faces imminent recession on twin pressures of COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices.

Taiwo Oyedele, head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services at PwC, said the cut in monetary policy rate by 100 basis points is a welcome development.

“The move is desirable at this time to fuel the desperately needed growth and slowdown the imminent economic decline due to COVID-19. Hopefully the rate cut will filter through to lending rates,” he said.

Stock investors gain N32bn in shortened trading week

By Iheanyi Nwachukwu • May 29, 2020

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.