Naira Records Mixed Performance at Forex Market

By Adedapo Adesanya 

It was a mixed outcome for the Naira at the various segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Wednesday, January 15, 2020.

Business Post reports that at the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment, the local currency moved in different directions, closing flat at the Kano and Port Harcourt BDC markets, while appreciating at the Lagos and Abuja markets.

In Lagos, the Naira gained 30 kobo to close at N360.70k to a dollar compared with N361 it traded on Tuesday, while it appreciated by 90 kobo at the Abuja market to sell at N360.80/$1 in contrast to N361.70/$1 it exchanged at the previous session.

But at the Port Harcourt market, the local currency closed flat at N360.50 per Dollar and also remained unchanged at the Kano BDC market at N360/$1 during the midweek session.

It was a similar scenario at the interbank segment also known as the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) window as the domestic currency closed unchanged at N306.90/$1 at the close of transactions.

It was also not different at the parallel market, as the Naira traded flat against the US Dollar to close at N362/$1 just as the Naira recorded no price movement against the British Pound Sterling at the black market, closing at N480/£1.

However, there was a big movement against the Euro during yesterday’s trading period. The local currency lost the N2 it gained against the Euro on Tuesday to close at N402/€1 on Wednesday.

An analysis of transactions at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment on Wednesday showed that the Naira was not able to extend its gains to the seventh day as it depreciated yesterday by 17 kobo or 0.05 percent to close at N362.60 per Dollar against N362.43/$1 it traded at Tuesday’s session.

Also, the turnover recorded at the session reduced significantly by 47.6 percent or $239.17 million to $263.45 million from the $502.62 million transactions carried out on Tuesday.