By Adedapo Adesanya
After shedding at the previous session, there was a respite for the Naira at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market on Valentine’s Day.
The local currency gained 16 kobo equivalent to 0.04 percent on the US Dollar to close at N364.76/$1 compared with N364.92/$1 it traded at Thursday’s session.
This was buoyed by the lesser demand for forex at the market segment during the session as the transaction value went down by 60 percent or $429.72 million to $282.33 million from $712.05 million of the previous day.
The Naira’s performance at the parallel market against the American Dollar was flat as the exchange rate remained at N360/$1, while it further gained N1 against the Euro to close at N394/€1 in contrast to N395/€1 on Thursday and improved by N2 against the Pound Sterling to sell at N473/£1 compared with the previous rate of N475/£1.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment in Lagos, the Naira gained 30 kobo to close at N358 to a dollar compared with Thursday’s N358.30 per Dollar it traded previously, but traded flat against the pound and the Euro at N475/£1 and N394/€1 respectively.
In Abuja, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar remained at N358/$1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro to remain at N394.50/€1, while it appreciated against the Pound by 50 kobo to close at N474/£1 versus N474.50/£1 it traded on Thursday.
At the Port Harcourt BDC market on Friday, there was no change to the Naira/USD exchange rate as it closed at N358/$1, just as the local currency remained static against the Pound and Euro at N475/£1 and N397/€1 respectively.
The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar, Pound Sterling and the Euro at the Kano BDC market remained at the previous levels of N358/$1, N472/£1 and N395/€1 respectively.
At the official window of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the exchange rate used to carry out government obligations remained at N306.95/$1.
Dipo Olowookere