Despite a decline in the supply of dollars at the official foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday, the naira began August on a strong note, gaining 2.47 percent of its value.
On the first day of the nationwide hunger protest, bank branches shuttered, but the FX market continued to operate
Based on statistics from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, the dollar was quoted at N1,570 after trade on Thursday, compared to N1,608.73 on Wednesday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
The amount of money supplied by willing sellers and willing buyers fell from $270.81 million on Wednesday to $142.32 million on Thursday, a 47.45% decrease.
FX market players quoted the dollar at a high rate of N1,631 on Thursday during intraday trading, up from N1,645. The intraday low ended at N1,551 on the same day, down from N1,399.04 per dollar quoted on Wednesday.
On the parallel market, sometimes referred to as the black market, the dollar ended at N1,610 on Wednesday and traded for N1,615 on Thursday, resulting in an N5 loss for the local currency.
The News Chronicles recently visited some bank branches and discovered that all of the banks at the well-known locations in Wuse, Mararaba, Lugbe, and Central Business Area were closed. Small companies and a few commercial buses continued to run on occasion in the meantime.
