Naira gains further at official market 

The naira gained further at the official and foreign exchange (FX) markets following the sale of $876 million through the retail Dutch auction system.

After trading on Thursday the naira gained 0.18 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N1,593.62 compared to N1,596.52 quoted on Wednesday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, (NAFEM) according to the data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited.

The dollar supplied by willing buyers and willing sellers increased by 51.18 per cent to $141.99 million on Thursday from $93.92 million recorded on Wednesday at NAFEM.

According to the foreign exchange market summary, the intraday high printed at N1,616 per dollar on Thursday compared to N1,628 on Wednesday while the intraday low closed at N1,520/$, the same rate on Wednesday.

On the parallel market, popularly called the black market, the naira gained further on Thursday as the dollar crashed to N1,595. This represents a 0.94 per cent (N15) gain over N1,610 quoted in the morning trading on the black market.

Against the rate exchanged on Wednesday, the naira gained 1.57 per cent or N25 compared to N1,620 quoted on Wednesday on the black market.

In the latest testament to the CBN’s ongoing commitment to support the proper functioning of the foreign exchange market by enhancing liquidity when necessary, the apex bank offered $876m to fulfil bids submitted by customers at an auction concluded on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

In line with its pledge to provide transparent access to foreign exchange for all legitimate customers, the CBN’s leadership has introduced an additional mechanism through the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) to facilitate FX sales to end users directly.

This approach fosters a more transparent market, reducing information asymmetry and supporting price discovery. It complements the two-way quote system deployed over the past few months to enhance liquidity in the interbank market, through which over $305 million of foreign exchange has been sold to authorised dealers in the last three weeks.