Naira firms up at official market, dips at parallel window

THE Naira, at the official foreign exchange market, on Thursday, recorded marginal appreciation to N1,602.17/$1 from N1,605.74/$ traded Wednesday, data from Financial Markets Dealers Quotes (FMDQ) exchange showed.

The supply of US dollars at the foreign exchange market plunged by 42 percent to $168.98 on Wednesday, days after Binance announced its exit from the Nigerian exchange market.

FMDQ data showed that the turnover of the dollar plunged on Wednesday to $168.98 at the close of work from $291.74 on Tues-day. The figure represents a $122.76 reduction in dollar supply compared to $291.74 on Tuesday.

The development had led to a consecutive drop in Nai-ra at the official forex market to 1,605.74 per dollar on Wednesday and N1,602.43 the previous day.

Also, at the parallel foreign exchange market, the local currency depreciated to N1,620/$1 on Thursday as against N1,610 to the greenback which it closed at on Wednesday.

Also, the Great Britain Pound (GBP) traded on Thursday at N2,060/£ from N2,030/£ which it closed at on Wednesday, reflecting increased demand pressure.

It will be recalled that while fielding questions from journalists at the recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, had disclosed that the bank has settled about S400 million of the existing foreign exchange backlog of $2.2 billion.

The action, according to analysts, further signalled the bank’s commitment to clearing the outstanding forex backlog and restoring offshore investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s financial markets.

However, despite the regulatory move against Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms, Africa’s populous country’s FX crisis has yet to be resolved.

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