Tuesday’s closing rate for the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) was N1560.57 to $1, indicating a significant increase.
Compared to Monday’s closing rate of N1,597.24/$1, this indicates a notable increase of N36.67 or 2.35%.
The Naira also continued to trade below the N1,600/$1 level for the second day in a row, continuing a nine-day streak that began on March 5, 2024.
Additionally, Tuesday’s trading activity showed growth, as the daily turnover reached $195.13 million, a significant 38.93% increase from Monday’s $140.45 million.
Additionally, data from FMDQ Securities shows that the daily turnover from the start of the year to March 18th, 2024, increased impressively by 4.34%, or $1.43 billion.
The naira saw a range of results against major foreign currencies on Tuesday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
A variation of N211.5/$1 was noted in the I&E FX market, with a top spot rate of N1626.5/$1 and a trough of N1,415.00.
The naira held steady in the parallel market, hovering around the benchmark of N1,600 per dollar. On Tuesday, the value of the national currency increased by 0.50% relative to the US dollar, from N1,608/$1.
On the other hand, there was a 0.25% depreciation of the pound sterling against it, resulting in a closing rate of N2,025/£1 as opposed to N2,030/£1.
However, the naira gained 0.29% vs the euro, closing at N1,720/€1 as opposed to N1,725/€1 on Monday.
As of March 18, 2024, the nation’s foreign reserves have increased by $30.04 million to $34.450 billion, a slight rise of 0.09% from $34.420 billion the day before. Since February 13, 2024, or nearly three weeks ago, the reserves have been trending upward.
A number of analysts anticipate that this week will see additional naira stabilization in the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy announcements.
In order to restore stability, improve transparency, increase supply, and encourage price discovery in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, a number of reforms have been implemented. These include unifying the foreign exchange market, promoting a willing buyer-willing seller market, eliminating all margin limits for remittances made through the International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO), introducing a two-way quote system, and implementing extensive changes in the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market.
“This strategic move also holds the potential to attract the capital inflows necessary to enhance liquidity in the foreign exchange market and bolster the currency in the immediate term,” CBN Governor Oluyemi Cardoso stated in his personal statement during the most recent rate decision meeting.
