Good News as Naira Begins Week Strong Against USD, External Reserves Gain $1.87 Million
- The naira made a stunning recovery against the US dollar at the official market on Friday, September 2023
- The local currency gained N35 at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, trading at N740 as against N770 it sold the previous day
- The news comes as Nigeria's external reserves gained about $1.87 million in August
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Last week, the naira gained in the parallel and official markets after days of depreciating against the US dollar.
On Friday, September 1, 2023, the naira gained N35 against the US dollar, exchanging at N740 against the N770 per dollar it traded on Thursday, August 31, 2023, according to data from FMDQ.
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Naira gains as external reserves hit $1.87 million
In the parallel market, the naira recovered marginally against the US dollar to trade at N917 per dollar on Friday, September 1, 2023, as against the N920 per dollar it sold on Thursday, August 31, 2023.
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The report comes as the external reserves saw a slight gain of $1.87 million due to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policies to stabilise the Forex market.
The external reserves, which serve as the firepower against the Naira's depreciation, commenced in August at $33.95 billion and closed at the same amount, earning an increase of $1.87 million or 0.005%.
Reports say the marginal recovery combines several factors, including diaspora inflows and an uptick in global crude oil prices.
CBN's policies and NNPC loan bolster naira
Also, analysts believe that the news of the $3 billion obtained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company of Nigeria (NNPC) from AfrexiMbank contributed to boosting the external reserves in August.
The CBN stated in August that crude oil export price stood at $91.8 per barrel, an increase of 4.34% from $87.98 per barrel recorded in July.
The $91.80 per barrel is the highest crude oil sale since November last year when it sold at $93.41.
ThisDay reports that the external reserves depreciated in the first eight months of 2023 at $3.13 billion against the backdrop of CBN's Forex interventions.
The reserves opened in 2023 at $37.082 billion and ended August 31, 2023 at $33.954 billion.
The naira closed the month of August at N770 per dollar at the Investors and Exporter (I&E) window as against the N757.023 it closed against the dollar in July 2023.
Nigeria's external reserves lose $915 million after naira float, begins week on negative note
Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's foreign reserves declined by $915 million after Nigeria's apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), floated the naira and liberalised the foreign exchange market.
According to data from CBN on Sunday, August 27, 2023, the reserves, which stood at $34.66 billion as of June 14, 2023, when the naira was floated, dropped to $33.74 billion on August 24, 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
