Naira gains at official window, depreciates at parallel market

The naira depreciated to N1,510 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday.

The current FX rate signifies a decline of 0.33 percent from the N1,505/$ reported on May 22.

Currency traders, also known as street traders, in Lagos, quoted the buying rate of the local currency at N1,485/$ and the selling rate at N1,510/$ — leaving a profit margin of N25.

At the official window, the naira appreciated by 0.19 percent against the dollar from N1,485.66/$ on May 23 to close at N1,482.81 on Friday.

According to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the official window, a dollar was sold as high as N1,511 and at a low rate of N1,400 during trading hours.

The daily foreign exchange market turnover was $556.25 million.

On May 23, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said the pains caused by ongoing monetary and fiscal reforms will soon be over if Nigerians remain focused on supporting the policies.

“As the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, I remain committed to repositioning the bank to deliver meaningful data-driven and sustainable solutions with a clear positive impact on the livelihood of all Nigerians,” he said.

“However, addressing these challenges requires the concerted effort of all stakeholders, especially the monetary and fiscal authorities working in harmony.”

Cardoso said the CBN will continue to implement bold reforms to make the economy work for all Nigerians, and the apex bank has started tightening monetary policy to combat inflationary pressure and produce favourable outcomes.