The Nigerian naira has continued its impressive upward trajectory against the United States dollar, reaching N850 per dollar by the close of Wednesday’s trading session.
Following a notable appreciation on Tuesday, where the naira closed at N915 per dollar, the positive momentum persisted. This movement came in the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s announcement of intervention measures to address the naira’s decline. Just a day prior, the naira had traded at N950 to a dollar, reflecting the volatility in recent times.
In Lagos, Bureau de Change operators reported buying and selling rates of N830 to a dollar and N850 to a dollar, signaling a decrease in demand compared to the previous week.
Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, Abuja, BDC operator Aminu Zakari revealed buying and selling rates of N860 per dollar and N845 per dollar. He noted a sense of uncertainty in the parallel market segment following the CBN’s announcement.
Turning to the Investor & Exporter forex window, the trading day began at N781.66 to a dollar, reaching a peak of N799.90 per dollar before closing at N759.86 to a dollar on Wednesday. The previous day’s closing rate was N781.30 to a dollar.
The ongoing process of unifying various official exchange rate windows into one, coupled with the devaluation of the naira from N460/$1 to approximately N760/$1, alongside the removal of petrol subsidies, has contributed to an economic landscape marked by price fluctuations across the country.
It’s noteworthy that President Bola Tinubu had previously voiced criticism of the central bank’s monetary policy, calling for a comprehensive reassessment. On June 14, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) responded by announcing the unification of all FX market segments, replacing multiple exchange rate “windows” with a unified market rate. This decision promptly led to a 36% drop in the naira’s value against the dollar on the official market.
