As Nigerians anxiously look to the newest direction of the local currency, the naira on Monday gained N10 exchanging at N470/$ compared to N480/$ it traded in the previous week on the black market.

Traders told BusinessDay that currency hoarders are now bringing out their dollars as the news of CBN’s dollar sales next week spread.

The Naira appreciation followed the plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resume dollar sales to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators next week.

The CBN on Thursday August 27 informed the general public that gradual sales of foreign exchange (FX) to licensed BDC operators will commence with effect from September 7, 2010.

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The local currency also signalled appreciation by N0.43k as the foreign exchange market opened with an indicative rate of N386.50k on Monday from N386.93k opened with on Friday last week at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, data from FMDQ showed.

At the I&E FX window, relatively lower volume passed through the market, due to tightened system liquidity. Naira appreciated marginally by 0.02 percent as the dollar was quoted at N385.67 on Friday as against the last close of N385.75 per dollar. Analysts at FSDH said most participants maintained bids between N380.00 and N393.05 per dollar.

Naira also firmed against the dollar at the retail bureau where it was trading at N470, representing a gain of N8.00k when compared with N478 traded last week.

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.

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.

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