By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira wrapped up the week with a strong performance against the Dollar across the various segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, January 31, 2020.
At the Bureau De Change (BDCs) segment in Lagos, the local currency appreciated by 60 kobo to close at N358/$1 compared with N358.60/$1 it traded at the previous session. It also gained N1 against the Euro at the same location to close at N392/€1 versus N393/$1 it recorded previously and improved by 50 kobo against the Pound to close at N474/£1 in contrast to N474.50k/£1 it was sold on Thursday.
At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the domestic was strengthened against the Dollar by 50 kobo as it closed at N358 per dollar compared with N358.50 to a Dollar it traded previously. It, however, shed N4 against the pound sterling to trade at N472/£1 in contrast to N468/£1 it was sold on Thursday. The session ended with the Naira closing flat against the Euro at N398/€1.
At the Kano market, the Naira appreciated by 50 kobo against the greenback to exchange at N358/$1 versus N358.50k/$1 it closed on Thursday, while against the Pound and the Euro, the local currency closed flat at N475/£1 and N399/£1 respectively.
In Abuja, the BDC operators sold the Nigerian Naira at N358 to a Dollar after it gained 50 kobo against the greenback. At the previous session, the Naira was exchanged at N358.50/$1. However, on Friday, the domestic currency gained N3 on the pound to close at N475/£1 compared with N478/£1 it previously traded, while it gained N4 on the Euro to close at N396/€1, better than Thursday’s N400/€1.
A look at another segment of the FX market on Friday showed that the local currency performed well against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market, where it gained 63 kobo equivalent to 0.17 percent to trade at N363.97 to a dollar in contrast to $364.60 per Dollar it went for at the previous session.
This followed a larger turnover printed by the market segment, which rose by $794.67 million as investors exchanged a total of $908.02 million compared with N113.35 million of the previous trading day, indicating a difference of 701 percent.
At the parallel market, the Naira gained N1 against theUS Dollar to close at N360/$1 in contrast to N361/$1 it was sold at the previous session. The local currency gained N2 against the British pound sterling during the session to N476/£1 from N478/£1. It, however, traded flat against the Euro to close at N397/€1.
At the interbank segment of the forex market, the domestic currency closed flat at N307/$1.
Modupe Gbadeyanka