Naira loses 1.82% despite steady rise in dollar supply

Naira depreciated against the dollar, losing 1.82 percent of its value despite rising liquidity in the official foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday.

Dollar sales by banks and other market players have been rising in the last three trading days, reaching a high of $192.25 million on Thursday. This is 11.68 percent higher than $172.14 recorded on Wednesday.

After trading on Thursday, naira weakened by 1.82 percent as the dollar was quoted at N1,571.31, weaker than N1,542.58 quoted on Wednesday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM), data from the FMDQ indicated.

Related News

During the spot trading, the intraday high fell to all-time low of N1,851 per dollar on Thursday, weaker than N1,755 closed on Wednesday. Also, the intraday low depreciated to N1,300 as against N1,050 closed on the previous day.

The local currency gained 2.70 at the parallel market, commonly referred to as black market as the dollar was quoted at N1,850 on Thursday, stronger than N1,900, on Wednesday, the lowest ever rate exchange in that market.

Nigeria’s foreign currency reserves, which gives the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the firepower to defend the naira increased to $33.416 billion as of February 20, 2024 from $33.171 billion recorded at the beginning of the month, according to data from the CBN.

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.