Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The gradual increase in the demand for foreign exchange (forex) at the currency exchange market on Wednesday weakened the local currency against the Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment.
During the trading session, the Nigerian currency depreciated by 54 kobo or 0.14 percent against the US Dollar to sell at N387.17/$1 in contrast to N386.63/$1 it traded on Tuesday.
It was observed that trades worth $90.88 million were executed at the I&E window at the midweek session, compared with the $90.09 million achieved on Tuesday, indicating a marginal rise of $790,000 or 0.9 percent.
However, at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) segment of the forex market, data sourced from the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) showed operators in Lagos retained the Naira/Dollar exchange rate at N457.50/$1.
However, against the Pound, the local currency appreciated by N1 to N558/£1 from 559/£1, while the Naira dropped N2 on the Euro to trade at N504/€1 in contrast to the previous rate of N502/€1.
At the Port Harcourt BDC market, the domestic currency gained N2 against the Dollar to sell at N455/$1 in contrast to the previous day’s N457/$1. Against the Pound, the Naira also gained N4 to close at N553/£1 compared with N557/£1 and against the Euro, it appreciated by N2 to close at N498/€1 versus N500/€1.
In Abuja, the local currency closed flat against the dollar at N457/$1 and lost N5 against the pound to trade at N563/£1 as against N558/£1 it was traded on Tuesday and gained N2 against the Euro at N498/€1 versus N500/€1.
At the Kano market, the Nigerian currency retained its previous exchange rates against the Dollar, Pound and Euro at N455/$1, N540/£1 and N490/€1 respectively.
At the black market, the local currency gained N5 on the American dollar to close at N455/$1 in contrast to N460/$1 it was sold previously.
However, the domestic currency closed flat against the Pound and the Euro at the parallel market to trade at N555/£1 and N498/€1 respectively.
At the interbank segment of the market, the Naira remained unchanged against the United States Dollar at N361/$1.
