Naira Appreciates to N1501, U.S Dollar Savers Face Exposures
The naira exchange rate climbed to N1501 per dollar in the absence of significant US dollar demand at the official window. The forex market players expressed confidence that the local currency will keep the momentum, making it risky to hoard dollar in Nigeria.
According to data from the Central Bank, US dollar transactions was consummated at the official window at the rate of N1500.9152 on Monday, gaining from N1506.0850 the previous day.
During the intraday trading session, the naira strengthened against the dollar to N1498, reflecting strong US dollar volume availability in the currency market.
The local currency exchange rate has sustained upside momentum for weeks, and in the last 10 days, the naira has gained about N37, based on data obtained from the Central Bank.
Analysts said keeping dollar has become a risky adventure in Nigeria given the CBN’s persistent FX interventions, which has been further buttressed by growing external reserves – standing at $41.596bn on Wednesday.
“It will take time before the authority spend the amount in the external reserves to defend the naira…the authority is determined to help the naira find true value,” a senior economist at LSintelligence Associates said in a chat with MarketForces Africa.
Latest data showed Nigeria’s gross external reserves inched higher to about $41.6 billion on Tuesday, strengthened by sustained inflows from across sources. #Naira Appreciates to N1501, U.S Dollar Savers Face Exposures Fidelity Bank Drops as Earnings Delay Stokes Pressure
