Naira hits all-time low of N980 on rising demand for dollars

Naira on Wednesday fell to a record low of N980 per dollar on rising demand for dollars at the parallel market, popularly known as the black market.

Naira depreciation was attributed to strong demand for dollars by individuals travelling for business, school, medical or tourism.

At the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) forex window, Nigeria’s official FX market, naira fell by 0.34 percent as the dollar was quoted at N776.60 on Tuesday compared to N773.98/$1 on Monday, data from the FMDQ indicated.

Year-to-date, the local currency has depreciated by 68.46 percent (N315.60) to N776.60/$1 from N461/$1 quoted at the beginning of the year.

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Willing buyers and willing sellers maintained bids at N799.90/$1 high and N720.00 low, while the daily foreign exchange market turnover closed at $71.01 million on Tuesday.

At the money market, the Nigerian treasury bills secondary market closed on a mildly negative note on Tuesday with the average yield across the curve increasing by 1 basis point to 7.17 percent from 7.16 percent on the previous day, according to a report by FSDH Research.

Average yield across the long-term maturities expanded by 9 bps. However, the average yields across short-term and medium-term maturities closed flat at 3.05 percent and 6.16 percent, respectively. The treasury bill for July 11, 2024 (+9 bps) maturity bill witnessed selling pressure.

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.