Naira Depreciates to N385.53/$1 at I&E Window

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market on Thursday, March 26.

According to data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the local currency was weakened by 1.39 percent or N5.28 to sell at N385.53/$1 in contrast to N380.25/$1 it traded on Wednesday.

This happened despite a low demand for forex at the market segment as transactions worth $79.74 million were carried out during the session in contrast to $128.79 million of the previous session, indicating a decline by $49.05 million or 38 percent.

At the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the market, the Naira lost N2 against the Dollar in Lagos, trading at N400/$1 compared with N398/$1 it was sold on Wednesday. The local currency also depreciated by N12 against the British pound to N495/£1 from N483/£1 and then depreciated by N1 against the Euro to N416/€1 from N415/€1.

At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the Nigerian currency weakened by N5 against the greenback to quote at N395/$1 in contrast to N390/$1 it traded the previous session. It also fell by N1 against the Euro to sell at N415/€1 as against N414/€1 it was traded at the last session. However, the domestic currency gained N6 against the Pound Sterling to trade at N478/£1 in contrast to N484/£1 it previously sold.

In Abuja, the Naira/Dollar exchange rate traded flat at N397/$1. The rates also remained unchanged against the Pound and Euro at the same market yesterday at N475/£1 and N413/€1 respectively.

Also, Naira/USD exchange rate was flat at the Kano BDC market at N397/$1. The Naira/Pound and Naira/Euro exchange rates remained at N480/£1 and N417/€1 respectively.

At the parallel market, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar and the Pound at N400/$1 and N485/£1 respectively. However, the domestic currency dropped N1 on the Euro to close at N416/€1 in contrast to N415/€1 it was exchanged the previous day.

At the interbank segment of the foreign exchange market, the Naira also remained flat at N361/$1.