Naira Appreciates Against US Dollar in All Forex Markets as Banks Resume Old Notes Payment

• The Naira has recovered some of its lost value against the US dollar across official and unofficial forex exchange markets
• The positive performance of the Naira comes on the same day Nigerian banks resumed over-the-counter payment of old naira notes
• Nigerians are still waiting for the Central Bank of Nigeria to make an official statement on the old Naira notes

Nigeria's currency recorded a good performance on Monday, March 6, 2023, against the United States dollar, as it appreciated across all foreign exchange markets.

At the official market, data from FMDQ securities showed that the local currency gained 42 Kobo or 0.09% against the greenback to trade at N461.33/$1 versus the previous session’s exchange rate of N461.75/$1.

The Naira regained strength despite coming under heavy FX demand by participants in the I&E window.

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It was observed that the value of forex transactions recorded in the I&E segment surged by 59.85 per cent or $40.44 million to $108.01 million from $67.57 million.

Unofficial market rates

In the parallel market, the Nigerian currency gained N4 against the US Dollar yesterday to quote at N748/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N752/$1.

Also, in the peer-to-peer segment, the domestic currency was strengthened against its American pair by N9 to settle at N755/$1 compared with the initial session’s value of N764/$1.

But in the interbank segment, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the Naira closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro on Monday at N553.24/£1 and N489.27/€1, respectively.

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Banks begin payment of old naira notes to customers

In another report, the continued silence of the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding the Supreme Court judgment on old naira notes is causing confusion.

Although reports have it that some banks have resumed paying customers in old naira notes, using them for transactions remains a challenge.

The CBN has yet to release any official statement regarding the next steps for banks to recirculate the old naira notes.

Source: Legit.ng