Naira Trades N480/£ at Parallel Market After N5 Loss Tuesday

By Adedapo Adesanya 

The Naira depreciated by N5 against the British Pound Sterling to close at N480/£1 at the parallel market segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Tuesday.

The last time the local currency suffered a similar loss against its United Kingdom counterpart was during last month’s elections, largely swept by the Conservative Party at the parliament, cementing Mr Boris Johnson’s position as the Prime Minister.

The domestic currency had opened the day at N475 against the Pound, but towards the afternoon, the price went up by N5 and remained at N480 at the close of transactions.

Business Post gathered N5 loss suffered by the Nigerian currency was spurred by a better performance of the English currency, which had seen a good performance globally since the year began. By the end of this month, Britain will eventually leave the European Union.

At the same market segment yesterday, the Naira closed flat against the US Dollar to trade at N362, but appreciated against the Euro by N2 during the session to exchange at N400/€1 compared with N402/€1 it transacted the previous day.

The performance of the local currency was slightly stronger at the interbank segment of the market as it gained 5 kobo or 0.02 percent to rise to N306.90/$1 from N306.95 per dollar at the previous session.

At the close of transactions at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment on Tuesday, the Naira gained against the Dollar for the sixth straight day, although marginally by 5 Kobo or 0.01 percent to N362.43 per Dollar from N362.48/$1 it exchanged on Monday.

The market turnover at the investors’ window increased  on Tuesday by 67.2 percent or $202.08 million as transactions worth $502.62 million were recorded in contrast to $300.54 million achieved the previous day.

At the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment of the market, the local currency recorded no changes across key locations like Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

In Lagos, the Naira traded at N361.50 to a Dollar, the same rate it traded previously on Monday. Likewise, at the Abuja market, the local currency was traded at N361.70/$1.

In other locations like Port Harcourt, the domestic currency exchange rate closed at N360 per dollar, while in the Northern city of Kano, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate closed flat at N360/$1.