Naira Gains 0.31% at I&E, 0.02% at Interbank

By Adedapo Adesanya 

Transactions ended at the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday, December 2, 2019, with the Naira appreciating against the US Dollar at both the Interbank and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segments of the market.

The local currency pulled an incredible performance against the greenback at the investors window on Monday, appreciating by 0.13 percent at the close of business.

Data obtained from the FMDQ trading platform showed that the domestic currency garnered N1.11k over the greenback at the market segment to quote at N361.70/$1.

The Naira had traded at $362.81 per Dollar last Friday (November 29) against the American currency. However, it is not certain if this trend would be sustained as the festive season approaches very fast.

It was observed that the strength gained by the Nigerian currency at the I&E window yesterday was mainly influenced by the low demand for forex by customers.

According to FMDQ, the market turnover at the investors segment was weak at the trading session, with traders recording transactions worth $162.07 million, 53.3 percent or $184.84 million lower than the $346.91 million quoted at the previous session.

At the interbank market window of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday, the Nigerian Naira marginally appreciated against the US Dollar by 5 Kobo or 0.02 percent to close at N306.95 per dollar. This was in contrast to N307/$1 it traded at the previous session.

However, at the parallel market, the local currency traded flat against the greenback, closing at N360/$1, the same rate it had been for a very long time at the market segment.

But when paired with other major foreign currencies being traded at the black market, the Naira put up a good performance against both the Pound Sterling and the Euro on Monday.

Against the British Pound Sterling, the local currency gained N1 to sell at N465/£1 compared with N466/£1 it was quoted at the previous session, while it appreciated by N2 against the Euro at the same segment to exchange at N395/€1 in contrast to N397/€1 it went for in the previous market day.