By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of Naira to the American Dollar was slightly strengthened on Monday, February 10 at the official window of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also known as the interbank segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market.
Data obtained yesterday showed that the local currency, which traded at the previous session at N306.95/$1, appreciated by 5 kobo or 0.02 percent against the greenback to exchange at N306.90/$1.
But at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market, Business Post learned that the value of the Nigerian currency against its United States counterpart depreciated on the first trading day of the week.
According to data from the FMDQ Foreign Exchange, the domestic currency further lost 19 Kobo equivalent to 0.05 percent to sell at N364.56/$1 in contrast to N364.37/$1 it was exchanged last Friday.
This weakening of the Naira came despite the drop in the value of transactions recorded at the investors’ window during the trading day. Transactions worth $366.19 million were printed at the I&E window on Monday compared with the $443.63 million of last Friday, indicating a 17 percent or $77.44 million decline.
At the parallel market segment, the domestic currency retained its previous exchange rate against the Dollar, N360/$1. It also traded flat against the British Pound Sterling and Euro yesterday at N475/£1 and N396/€1 respectively.
At the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment, information sourced from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) by Business Post showed that the Naira gained 30 kobo on the dollar at the Lagos BDC market to close at N358/$1 versus N358.30/$1 it previously traded and appreciated by N2 against the Euro to sell at N394/€1 against N396/€1 of the previous trading day, while it remained unchanged against the Pound to close at N474/£1.
In the capital city of Abuja of the same BDC market, the local currency gained N1 against the greenback to trade at N358/$1 after closing at N359/$1 the previous day, while it improved by 50 kobo against the Euro to trade at N395.50/€1 in contrast to N396/€1 recorded previously and remained flat against the Pound at N475/£1.
At the Kano market, the Naira retained its previous exchange rate of N358/$1 and N395/€1 against the Dollar and Euro respectively, while it appreciated by N3 against the British Pound Sterling to close at N472/£1 compared with N475/£1 it was previously exchanged.
At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the local currency closed the Monday’s session flat against the US Dollar at N359/$1 and remained static against the Pound and the Euro N475/£1 and N397/€1 respectively.
