The naira appreciated by 12.57 percent against the US Dollar at the official foreign exchange (FX) market, despite a drop in dollar supply by market players on Monday.
The summary of the FX transactions published by the FMDQ Securities Exchange revealed that the dollar was quoted at N1,072 on Wednesday, stronger than N1,227 quoted on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
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The intraday high closed at N1,220 per dollar on Wednesday, stronger than N1,227/$ closed on Monday. The intraday low also closed strong at N981 on Wednesday, stronger than N1,000 on Monday.
In the parallel market also known as the black market, some traders quoted the naira at N1000 per dollar today, a 7 percent drop from N1,118 and N1,120 quoted on Monday.
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Dollar supply by willing buyers and willing sellers dropped by 24.88 percent to $189 million on Wednesday from $251.60 million on Monday at the NAFEM.
Olayemi Cardoso, the Central Bank Governor, said that the CBN’s intervention in the FX market was targeted at catalysing willing buyers and willing sellers’ supply as price rediscovery.
“It is not my intention to defend the naira. We’re pushing the markets to a willing buyer / willing seller, price discovery. And ultimately, I perceive a future where the central bank will not need to intervene. What is important to us is that there’s sufficient liquidity in the market, which I’ve spoken about here today,” he said.
