Naira loses further at official market

Naira fell marginally against the U.S. dollar at the official market on Wednesday, as foreign exchange supply increased significantly from what was recorded in the previous session on Tuesday.

Data from FMDQ securities exchange window, also known as the Investor and Exporters (I&E) window where forex is officially traded showed naira closed at N414.73 per $1.

The local unit performance on Wednesday represents a N0.43 or 0.10 per cent devaluation from N414.30 it exchanged on Tuesday.

This became significant as foreign exchange supply rose by 85.30 per cent with $226.32 recorded as against the $122.15 million recorded at the close of business in the previous session on Tuesday.

Naira touched an intraday high of N404.00 and oscillated to a low of N415.20 before closing at N414.73 per $1 on Wednesday.

At the black market in Abuja dealers exchanged the currency at N565.00 and N568.00 per $1 on Wednesday. This represents a N5.00(N2.00) or 0.90(0.4) per cent devaluation from N570.00 it exchanged on Tuesday.

In Uyo, dealers said the currency exchanged at N578.00 and N580.00 to a dollar due to increased demand they experienced.

“We bought at N570.00 and sold at N572.00 per $1 on Tuesday, but today, we sold at N578.00 and even N580.00 at some point because the demand was much and people were selling as they see deemed fit, ” said a dealer who asked not to be named.