Naira Sees Large Daily Loss after Holding Off for 3-Day
Godwin Emefiele, CBN Gov

Naira Sees Large Daily Loss after Holding Off for 3-Day

The naira could not hold off loosening up against the dominance of the United States (U.S.) dollar, depreciating across the market due to rising demand for foreign currency despite the tight supply side.

Amidst the widening forex gap, the naira recorded a large daily decline in value, trading at N469.50 per greenback ahead of the expected devaluation in 2023 after holding for three days.

Nigeria seeks to converge the rate as foreign currency liquidity persists. At the Investors’ and Exporters’ FX window, the Naira depreciated against the greenback to N469.50, according to data from the FMDQ Exchange platform.

The latest quoted spot rate translated to a 1.04 per cent decrease in the value of the local currency when compared with N464.67 it exchanged for the dollar on Wednesday.

Succumbing to demand pressures, the open indicative rate closed at N468.94 to the US dollar on Thursday.

Data from the FMDQ Exchange revealed that an exchange rate of N476.50 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N469.50.

Currency traders noted that the naira sold for as low as N460 to the US dollar within the day’s trading. A total of $74.18 million dollars was traded at the official Investors and Exporters window on Thursday.

Likewise, the parallel market rate loosened up to N766 as invisible demand spiked after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed local lenders to process forex requests on condition that requisitors submit tax clearance certificates. 

Market data indicates that one-month, three-month, and one-year Dollar/Naira forward rates closed at N483.63, N511.40, and 567.27, respectively, translating to N5.74, N6.44, and N8.41 losses.

FMDQ Exchange quoted the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing (NAFEX) rate at N466. 79 per US dollar on its platform. #Naira Sees Large Daily Loss after Holding Off for 3-Day

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