Naira Appreciates By 1.8%, Closes N756/$

The naira on Tuesday appreciated by 1.79 percent against the United States dollar on the Investor & Exporter forex window and closed at N756.61/$.

On Monday, local currency slumped to 770.38/$ at the close of trading on the I&E window on Monday, from 686.96/$ at the close of trading on Friday.

According to figures from FMDQ Group, the trading, which commenced at 701.75/$ on Tuesday reached a high of 781/$ before closing at 756.61/$.

The trading also recorded an improved turnover of $134.47m on Tuesday from $78.03m at the close of trading on Monday, and at the parallel market, the naira was bought and sold at 750/$ and 760/$.

In a chat with The Punch, a BDC operator in Lagos,  said, “The rate has been quite unstable recently. Today, the dollar was bought and sold at 750/$ and 760/$. Euro was bought and sold at 810/ € and 820/ €. Pound Sterling was bought and sold at 945/ £ and 957/ £.”

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria, last week directed Deposit Money Banks to remove the rate cap on the naira at the I&E window to allow for a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other global currencies.

Before the announcement, the naira had closed at the I&E window at 471.67/$, while the parallel market recorded 740/$.