Naira Loses N2 Against Pound at Black Market

By Adedapo Adesanya

Ahead of Thursday, December 12 general election in the United Kingdom, the Pound Sterling had continued to gain against the Nigerian Naira. On Tuesday, December 10, the Naira depreciated further against the British currency at the black market in Nigeria to trade at N470/£1.

At the segment of the foreign exchange market yesterday, the domestic currency lost N2 against the Pound to move from its previously traded rate of N468 to N470 at the close of transactions.

It was learned that the British Pound climbed on Tuesday, with the expectation that the Conservatives led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson will win a majority in parliament during the general election this Thursday.

Against other major currencies at the black market yesterday, the Naira closed flat against both the Euro and the US Dollar at the second trading day of the week.

For the Naira against the Euro, it ended at N307/£1, while it finished against the American currency at N360/$1.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment, the Naira depreciated for the second consecutive day this week by 0.06 percent equivalent to 20 Kobo to trade at N363.56/$1 compared with N363.36/$1 it was traded at the previous session.

The poor performance of the local currency at the forex category came as the market recorded an increase in turnover yesterday. Data from FMDQ showed that investors exchanged a total of $118.89 million, 8.3 percent higher than the $109.85 million worth of transactions recorded at the same segment on Monday.

At the interbank segment of the market, the Naira/USD saw no difference after it appreciated at the Monday session, remaining unchanged at N306.90/$1 at the end of Tuesday’s trading.