By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira to the Dollar closed mixed at various locations across the country at the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) segment of the foreign exchange market on Friday, February 28, 2020.
According to the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), of four major locations, only Lagos and Abuja saw changes in the Naira/Dollar exchange rate, while in the two other cities of Kano and Port Harcourt, the value remained unchanged.
At the Lagos BDC market, the Naira depreciated against the dollar by 30 kobo to close at N358.30/$1 compared with N358/$1 it traded at the previous session on Thursday. However, the domestic currency appreciated by N1 against the pound to close at N473/£1 versus N474/£1 at the previous session, while it gained N4 against the Euro to trade at N391.30/€1 in contrast to N395.30/€1.
In the capital city of Abuja, the local currency gained N1 against the greenback to trade at N358/$1 after it closed at N359/$1 at the previous session. It appreciated by N2.50 against the Pound to N472.50 /£1 after dropping previously to N475/£1, and gained N2.50 against the Euro to N392.50/€1 from N395/€1.
At Kano BDC, the Naira closed at N358/$1 just as it closed flat against the Pound and the Euro at the same market to trade at N472/£1 and N395/€1 respectively.
It was a similar story at the Port Harcourt BDC market as the domestic currency remained unchanged against the United States Dollar, the Pound and the Euro at N358/$1, N475/£1 and N397/€1 respectively.
At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment on Friday, the local currency saw a marginal drop of 0.01 percent or 3 kobo as the Naira traded at N365.25/$1 against the greenback. The Naira had previously appreciated to N365.22/$1 at the window.
Business Post monitored from the FMDQ Foreign Exchange that this was caused by higher demand for the dollar at the market segment during the trading session as traders exchanged a total of $848.01 million, higher than $377.72 million exchanged at the Thursday session, indicating a difference of 125 percent or $470.29 million.
At the interbank segment of the foreign exchange market, the Naira closed at N306.95/$1, same rate it was exchanged at the official window of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira closed transactions flat against the US Dollar, the British Pound, and the Euro at N360/$1, N472/£1 and N392/€1 respectively.
Dipo Olowookere