By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the Dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Thursday, May 28, 2020.
The appreciation was boosted by liquidity at the forex market as sales from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) begin to circulate and ease the pressure on the domestic currency.
Data obtained by Business Post from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) indicated that at the Lagos BDC market, the Naira was strengthened against the greenback by N4 yesterday to trade at N452/$1 compared with N456/$1 it traded previously.
At the same Lagos BDC market, the local currency gained N2 against the British Pound to sell at N550/£1 compared to N552/£1 that it sold on Wednesday and also appreciated by N4 on the Euro to close at N482/€1 from N486/€1.
In Abuja, the local currency gained N8 against the American currency to trade at N450/$1 in contrast to N458/$1 of the previous session. Likewise, against the pound, the Naira appreciated by N10 to N540/£1 from N550/£1 and against the Euro, it was boosted by N2 to N483/€1 from N485/€1.
At the Kano BDC market on Thursday, the Naira gained N1 against US Dollar to trade at N457/$1 compared to N458/$1 it traded on Wednesday. However, it depreciated against the Pound by N8 to quote at N558/£1 as against N550/£1 of the previous session and gained N2 on the Euro to end at N483/€1 in contrast to N485/€1 recorded at the midweek session.
In Port Harcourt, the Naira appreciated by N8 against the US Dollar to sell at N448/$1 in contrast to N456/$1 of the previous day. However, on the Pound, the Naira shed N6 to trade at N550/£1 compared to Wednesday’s rate of N546/£1 and also shed N2 on the Euro to close at N480/€1 from N478/€1.
At the parallel market yesterday, the Naira sustained its positive performance against the Dollar with a N2 growth to quote at N453/$ in contrast to N455/$1 it sold on Wednesday.
It, however, fell by N5 against the Euro at the session to close at N475/€1 compared with N470/€1 that it previously sold, but remained flat against the pound at N545/£1.
Meanwhile, the Naira dropped 39 kobo on the dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market on Thursday.
The Nigerian currency was traded at N385.94/$1 at the segment compared with the N386.33/$1 it was exchanged on Wednesday.
According to data sourced by Business Post, transactions worth $22.65 million were carried out at the I&E window yesterday compared with the previous session’s $31.38 million. This indicated a decline by 28 percent or $8.73 million.
At the interbank segment of the forex market on Thursday, the Naira to Dollar exchange rate still remained at N361/$1.
Modupe Gbadeyanka