Naira Gains N2 at Abuja BDC Market as CBN Resumes FX Sales

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated by N2 at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market in the nation’s capital, Abuja, on Monday.

Data harvested by Business Post showed that the strengthening of the local currency came as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) resumed the sale of forex to operators in the market window yesterday after a 5-month break.

As a result, the value of the Nigerian currency improved against the United States Dollar to N430/$1 from N432/$1 it traded at the last trading session.

However, according to information obtained from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), the value of the Naira to the Pound Sterling and the Euro at the Abuja BDC market remained flat at N554/£1 and N505/€1 respectively.

It was unfortunate that the positive performance witnessed at the Abuja market was not replicated in Port Harcourt as the domestic currency depreciated by N1 against the Dollar to sell for N439/$1 versus the previous rate of N438/$1. Against the Pound, it lost N2 to close at N570/£1 compared with N568/£1 of last Friday but remained flat on the Euro at N508/€1.

At the Lagos market, the local currency traded flat against the Dollar, Pound and Euro at N441.50/$1, N582/£1 and N495/€1 respectively.

Equally, in Kano, the local currency exchange rate against all three major foreign currencies tracked at the market remained unchanged as the Dollar, Pound and Euro closed at N463/$1, N610/£1, and N540/€1 respectively.

At the black market yesterday, the Naira recorded a N5 depreciation against the Dollar to sell for N445/$1 versus the previous N440/$1 and lost N5 against the Pound to trade at N575/£1 in contrast to N570/$1 and depreciated by N9 against the Euro to quote at N515/€1 versus N506/€1.

It was observed that the exchange rate of the Naira/Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) market was in favour of the Nigerian currency on Monday by 13 Kobo as it closed at N386/$1 compared with the previous session’s N386.13/$1.

This followed the 49.3 per cent or $43.93 million decrease in the demand for forex at the market segment. According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, trades worth $45.22 million were executed in contrast to the previous session’s $89.15 million.

A look at the interbank segment of the market on Monday indicated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned the local currency to banks at the previous rate of N379 per dollar.