Naira records N147.69 gain since EFEMS commencement

The naira has recorded N147.69 gain over the dollar in the official foreign exchange (FX) since the commencement of trading on the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS).

After trading on Tuesday, the naira appreciated by 9.7 percent as the dollar was quoted at N1,525 on EFEMS compared to N1,672.69 quoted on November 29, 2024, the last trading day on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

The nation’s currency strengthened by 0.9 percent or N13.5 per dollar on a day-on-day basis from N1,538.50 per dollar quoted on Monday at the EFEMS, data from the CBN indicated.

Authorised currency dealers quoted the dollar at the highest rate of N1,560, weaker than N1,554 closed on Monday. The lowest bid printed at N1,500 on Tuesday from N1,524.50 on Monday.

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The local currency depreciated for the second straight time since the beginning of EFEMS to N1,665 on Tuesday, losing N85 from N1,580 quoted on Monday, in the parallel market also known as the black market.

On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the CBN issued a directive which required all banks operating in the interbank FX market to adopt the Bloomberg BMatch system for trading. The platform, which became operational on December 2, 2024, aims to enhance transparency and operational efficiency in Nigeria’s FX market.

The CBN also issued comprehensive guidelines for the operations of the interbank foreign exchange (FX) trading system via the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS), pegging the minimum tradable amount at $100,000 with incremental clip sizes of US$50,000.00, to promote transparency and efficiency in the FX market.

Omolara Duke, the CBN’s director of the financial markets department, announced this in a circular sent to all banks on Tuesday. According to Duke, the EFEMS initiative is designed to ensure “transparent, fair, and efficient FX trading, minimise counterparty risks, and enforce compliance with CBN regulations.”

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.