By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday, January 6, 2020.
Business Post reports that the local currency garnered some strength at the expense of the American currency at the market window yesterday to trade at N360.50/$1 in Lagos in contrast to N362/$1 it was sold at the previous session, indicating a N1.50 growth.
In Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, the domestic currency also appreciated against the greenback, gaining N1.70 to close at N361.30 to a Dollar compared with N363 per Dollar it traded last Friday at the same segment.
However, in Port Harcourt and Kano, the Naira traded flat at N360.50/$1 and N361/$1 respectively.
At the black market on Monday, the Nigerian Naira also remained unchanged against the American currency, exchanging at N362 to a Dollar, the same rate it had been for nearly a week.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Euro and the Pound Sterling at the parallel market yesterday. While it depreciated by N4 against British currency at N477/£1 against N473/£1 at the last session, it went down by N3 against the Euro to close at N403/€1 in contrast to N400/€1 it transacted last Friday.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the Naira, after performing badly for some days, appreciated against the Dollar on Monday by 0.11 percent equivalent to 41 kobo.
This was influenced by the availability of forex to meet the demands of customers, supporting the local currency to improve to N364.57/$1 at the close of business from N364.98/$1 it quoted at the previous session.
As earlier stated, the pressure on the Nigerian currency moderated during the session as reflected in the market turnover, which reduced by 12.7 percent equivalent to $36.62 million to $251.01 million from $287.63 million recorded last Friday.
A look at the interbank segment of the forex market showed that the first trading day of this week closed flat with the Naira exchanged at N307 to a Dollar, the same rate it was sold at last session.
Dipo Olowookere