By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira began the week on a positive note on Monday, appreciating against the US Dollar by N1.25 or 0.32 per cent to close at N388/$1 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market.
At the previous trading session, the domestic currency had traded against its American counterpart at 388/$1 at the same market window.
The value of the Naira was boosted against the Dollar yesterday as a result of the ease in the pressure on the local currency at the market.
During the day’s trading session, there was an 8.5 per cent or $1.6 million decline in the demand for forex by investors, who only carried out trades valued at $17.23 million compared with the previous $18.83 million.
At the parallel market, the Naira also gained against the Dollar by N2 to close at N473/$1 compared to N475/$1 of the previous session.
However, against the Pounds, the Naira dropped N5 to close at N590/£1 compared to N585/£1 it traded previously and lost N2 on the Euro to trade at N542/€1 compared to N540/€1 last week.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the forex market on Monday, in the city of Lagos, the domestic currency appreciated against the greenback by 50 kobo to sell for N472.50/$1 in contrast to the last session’s N473/$1.
Against the Pound, the local currency depreciated by N6 to close at N595/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N589/£1 and traded flat against the Euro at N543/€1.
In Abuja, the Nigerian currency appreciated against the US Dollar by N5 to trade at N471/$1 versus the previous rate of N476/$1. Against the Pound, it gained N14 to close at N576/£1 compared with N590/£1 and also gained N20 against the Euro to close at N530/€1 as against the previous N550/€1.
Furthermore, the local currency closed flat against the Dollar, Pound and Euro at the Kano BDC market on Monday at N473.50/$1, N575/£1 and N540/€1.
At the Port Harcourt market, the domestic currency gained 50 kobo against the greenback to close at N472/$1 compared to N472.50/$1 and against the Pound, it gained N4 to close at N581/£1 versus the previous session’s N585/£1, while against the Euro, it appreciated by N1 to close at N536/€1 versus N537/€1.
At the interbank window of the market, the official exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar remained at N381/$1 yesterday.
Modupe Gbadeyanka