Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Transactions closed positive for the Nigerian currency against the American Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Monday, January 13, 2020.
During the trading day, the Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the market window for the fifth straight sessions as demand for FX waned.
The low demand for Dollar helped the local currency garner some strength against its American counterpart, resulting in the 12 kobo or 0.03 percent appreciation it printed yesterday.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions, the local currency quoted at N362.48/$1 compared with N362.60 it went for last Friday at the market segment.
As for the market turnover on Monday, transactions worth $300.54 million were recorded at the I&E FX window, according to data harvested from the FMDQ OTC Securities, in contrast to $766.00 million exchanged at the previous session, representing a decline of 60.8 percent or $465.46 million.
The exchange rate at the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) window also referred to as the interbank market showed that the value of a Naira to one Dollar remained stable on Monday, closing at N306.95/$1.
Likewise, at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment, the local currency traded flat at most key locations like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, but gained at the Kano market.
In Lagos, the Naira remained at N361.50 to a Dollar, while at the Abuja market it stayed at N361.70/$1 and in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, it was still sold at N360/$1 on Monday, the same rate it exchanged last Friday.
However, at the Kano market, the Naira appreciated against the American currency by N1.50 to trade at N360/$1 in contrast to N361.50 to a Dollar it traded at the previous session.
A look at the Naira’s performance at the parallel market yesterday showed that the local currency traded flat against the US Dollar, the Pound Sterling, and the Euro.
At the close of business on Monday, the Naira was sold at the black market at N362 to the Dollar, N475 to one British Pound Sterling, and N402 to a Euro.
