Naira Bounces Back, Appreciates Against US Dollar in Official Market, CBN Confirms Pound, Euro Rates

• The value of the Nigerian currency improved against against the US dollar in the official foreign exchange markets
• Naira's good performance on Wednesday is the first improvement in days after poor consecutive exchange rates
• The new exchange rate is still far away from the Central Bank of Nigeria's expectations to bring down inflation

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

The Nigerian currency, the naira, has recorded its first appreciation against the US dollar in days to end the month of July on a positive note at the official foreign exchange market.

According to data from FMDQ Securities, the naira closed at N1,608.73/$ at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, July 31.

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Wednesday's exchange rate represents a N12.39 or 0.76% appreciation compared to the N1,621.12/$1 from the preceding day.

The strong performance of the naira comes as FX turnover at the spot market improved by 62.8% or $144.47 million to $236.70 million from the preceding session's $166. million.

Naira to pound, euro exchange rate

It was a different story for the naira against the British pound and the euro as it depreciated further.

The CBN data showed that Nigerian currency fell against the pound sterling in the official market yesterday by 66 Kobo to end the month of July at N2,069.11/£1 compared with the previous day's N2,068.45/£1.

While against the euro, the Nigerian currency lost N6.61 to quote at N1,748.22/€1 versus Tuesday's' closing price of N1,741.61/€1.

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Naira to dollar rate at black market

The good news continued for the naira against the US dollar in the parallel market, also known as the black market.

Abudulahhi, a BDCs trader, quoted the N1,605/$1 exchange rate on Wednesday compared with the N1,610/$1 dollar sold in the preceding trading session.

He explained

"The market is a bit dry today. I don't know why, but I believe it is because of the CBN's plans to make more dollars available in the official market."

CBN hopes for new naira-to-dollar exchange rate

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the CBN asked Nigerians if they were optimistic that the value of the Nigerian currency would improve in the coming months.

The apex bank said increasing domestic crude oil production and exports would enhance naira'sra's value.

The CBN recently conducted another round of forex sales and reiterated its determination to tackle depreciation of the naira.

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Banks, traders crash dollar rate in official, black markets as naira records best gains in 2 weeks

Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng