Naira seen rising further this week, opens flat at 1,120/$ on black market

The foreign exchange (FX) market opened on Monday with the naira, Nigeria’s currency exchanging flat with the US dollars at 1,120 on the parallel market, also called the black market, and is expected to appreciate further this week across markets.

This represents a N5 appreciation compared to N1,125 per dollar closed on Friday on the black market, according to the data collated from various street traders and the online exchange rate collating platforms.

The naira recorded a four-month high of 1,142.38 per dollar at the official foreign exchange (FX) market as dollar supply increased on Friday.

The summary of the FX auction released by the FMDQ Securities Exchange, revealed that the Naira gained 7.72 percent as the dollar was quoted at N1,142.38 on Friday, stronger than N1,230.61/$1 quoted on Monday last week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

Dollar supply rose by 124.08 percent to $281.34 million on Friday from $125.55 million recorded on Monday at NAFEM.

The intraday high closed at N1,265 per dollar on Friday, weaker than N1,261/$1 quoted on Monday. The intraday low appreciated by N100/$1 as the dollar was quoted on the spot at N1,100 on Friday, stronger than N1,200 quoted on Monday.

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According to the report, at the NAFEM window, the Naira appreciated 9.5 percent week/week against the base currency (USD) to exchange at N1,142.38/ $1. In the parallel market segment, Naira gained 0.4 percent w/w against the USD to settle at N1,230.00/$1.

The activity level waned as daily average turnover in the NAFEM segment plunged 44.2 percent w/w to settle at $374.1m as at April 8, 2024.

“We anticipate that the Naira would continue to strengthen as the CBN intensifies efforts to bolster liquidity in the market,” analysts at Afrinvest said.

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.