By Dipo Olowookere
The Naira value was strengthened at the parallel market on Monday, January 2, 2023, on the improved inflow of foreign currencies into the segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market.
According to checks by Business Post on the exchange rate of the domestic currency at the unofficial FX market today, the Naira gained N4 against the United States Dollar to trade at N735/$1 compared with the N739/$1 it was transacted on Saturday.
It was observed that the Nigerian currency appreciated against its American counterpart because it was not under any pressure in the black market on Monday, being a public holiday declared by the federal government to celebrate New Year.
Also, the market witnessed an influx of foreign currencies on the streets today as currency hawkers had more Dollar purchases than sales, easing the pressure on the Naira today.
One of the traders at the Olugbede Model Market, Mr Ishayaku Idris, informed this reporter that most of their customers came to change their Dollars to Naira.
However, he noted that things would change from this weekend or next week when Nigerians who returned home would begin to prepare to go back to their bases abroad.
“The Naira is better now, but we cannot because more people are coming to change their Dollars, Pounds and Euro to Naira. From next week, things will surely change,” Mr Idris said.
At around the Lagos airport today, the Naira was traded at about N736/$1, while at Allen in Ikeja, the local currency was exchanged with the Dollar at around N735/$1.
Meanwhile, in the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) window of the FX market, the legal tender in Nigeria appreciated against the US Dollar by N10 to trade at N743/$1 compared with last Friday’s rate of N753/$1.
The significant improvement in the value of the Naira to the Dollar in this market segment may have been buoyed by the lower demand for foreign currency at the exchange rate window.
Also, the crypto market has been going through a turbulent period in the past weeks, weakening the appetite for the tokens as investors are looking out for safer investment opportunities available at the moment.
The official FX window, which is the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, witnessed no trades on Monday due to the holiday, but would resume activities on Tuesday.
Adedapo Adesanya