Naira Appreciates Massively in Black Market, Remains Stable in Official Window

• The naira appreciated again in the official market, making it the three consecutive days it has rallied in the parallel market
• The value of the naira rose in the black to N1,695 per dollar on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, from N1,725 it traded the previous day
• The naira, however, remained stable in the official window at N1,672.69 per dollar on Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, appreciated to N1,695 per dollar in the parallel market on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, up from N1,725 on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.

The development may be tied to the new CBN directive that no one trade is allowed to trade outside the FX market.

Traders express optimism over dollar supply

Abbas Yishau, an FX trader, disclosed that the Yuletide season has allowed Nigerians to open their vaults and begin disposing of foreign currencies they own.

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“We have seen an ample supply of forex in the market lately, and we hope it continues throughout the festive season,” he said.

Meanwhile, the naira remained stable at N1,672.69 per dollar in the official NAFEM window.

Naira remains stable in the official window

Information from FMDQ Exchange shows that the naira exchange rate has stabilised since Monday, December 2, 2024, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) commenced live foreign exchange trade on the Bloomberg BMatch System.

Forex turnover volume rose 4.4% to $216.99 million from $207.86 million recorded on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.

However, on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the margin between the parallel and official window narrowed to N22.31 to a dollar from N52.31.

The naira’s rally in the markets has been hailed as a good economic development as the CBN continues to churn out policies to stabilise the local currency.

Experts have predicted that the naira may hit its lowest before December or early next year as it continues its downward fail, especially in the official window.

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New exchange rate as dollar sells cheaper in all forex markets

Dollar in the official market surges to $43 billion

Legit.ng earlier reported that foreign exchange turnover in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) increased yearly by 61.9% to $43.09 billion in 11 months from $26.6 billion in the same period in 2023.

Data from the FMDQ Exchange on quarterly transactions in the market shows that FX turnover stood at $12.64 billion in the first three months of 2024 and dropped quarterly by 19% to $10.24 billion in the year's second quarter.

The downward spiral continued in the third quarter when turnover dropped by 0.87% to $10.15 billion.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng