On Monday, the foreign exchange (FX) market resumed trading after the weekend, with naira hitting an all-time low of N1,210 on the parallel market or black market.

This represents 3.41 percent weaker than N1,170 closed on Friday on the same market.

Last week, the Naira weakened by 11.43 percent week-on-week to a historic low of 1,170/$1, largely attributed to speculative activities, resulting in a market premium of N361.73.

The combination of demands from 43 items restored to access foreign exchange and demands for school fees, among others, drove the sharp fall in the value of naira last week, analysts said.

Nigeria’s currency ended last week’s trading days with a loss of 3.78 per cent in spite of increased dollar liquidity of 83.94 percent on the official market.

Read also Naira is in a mindless race to N2000/$ but who can stop it?

The FX market opened last week Monday October 16, 2023 with one dollar being quoted at N778.80 and ended the week at N808.27/$ on Friday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

NAFEM is the market trading segment for Investors’ Exporters’ and End-users that allows for foreign exchange (FX) trades to be made at exchange rates determined based on prevailing market circumstances.

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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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