Naira appreciates after dollar sales rise by 76.60%

Naira appreciated against the dollar at the official foreign exchange (FX) market after dollar sales increased by 76.60 percent on Tuesday.

Banks and other willing buyers and willing sellers sold a total of $117.32 million on Tuesday, higher than $66.43 million sold on Monday.

After trading on Tuesday, naira gained 1.50 percent of its value as the dollar was quoted at N1,551.24, stronger than N1,574.62 quoted on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM), data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange indicated.

The pressure on naira has remained unabated despite various measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), due to strong demand for dollars by end users for legitimate needs as well as speculators for profiteering.

Naira has maintained a steady fall in the last two trading days hitting a record lowest of N1,574.64 on Monday, February 19, 2024 at NAFEM.

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The intraday high closed at N1,701 per dollar on Tuesday, stronger than N1,712/$1 closed on Monday, while the intraday low steadied at N1,100 per dollar.

Naira on Tuesday weakened to an all-time low of 1,825 and heading to 2,000 against the dollar at the parallel market.

This represents 6.30 percent lower than N1,710 per dollar closed on Monday at the black market, also known as parallel market.

The naira depreciation followed a strong demand by the end users amid shortage of the greenback across foreign exchange markets.

“There is no dollar in the market and the little ones that come to market are highly-priced, “One of the street traders told BusinessDay.

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.