Naira hits four-month high at official market, trades at N1,518/$

By Abubakar Yunusa

The naira, Nigeria’s local currency, appreciated to N1,518.88 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday.

The current value represents a 0.75 percent gain from the N1,530.26/$ on July 11.

The latest record marks the naira’s strongest performance since March 14, when it exchanged at N1,517.93 per dollar.

So far in July, the currency has shown relative stability, with slight fluctuations at the official market.

From July 1 to July 3, the local currency appreciated steadily against the greenback.

On July 1, the naira strengthened to N1,529.58/$, further to N1,526.16/$ on July 2, and N1525.82/$ on July 3.

Reversing the appreciation streak, the local currency fell against the dollar to N1,528.56/$ on July 4, before appreciating marginally to N 1,528.33/$ on July 7.

On July 8, the naira depreciated to N1,529.22/$, but strengthened to N1,520.75/$ on July 9 — before declining again to N1,525/$ on July 10 and N1,530.26/$ on July 11.

At the parallel section of the market, the naira held steady at N1,550/$ between July 11 and July 14.

In July, it has become common for the naira to remain stable for days at a time in the parallel market, also known as the black market.

Between July 1 and July 2, the naira held steady at N1,570/$, but appreciated to N1,565/$, N1,560/$, and N1,550/$ on July 3, July 4, and July 7, respectively, in the parallel market.

However, on July 8, the local currency depreciated to N1,560/$, appreciating again to N1,550/$ on July 9 and N1,545/$ on July 10.

The development comes days after commercial banks in Nigeria announced the resumption of international transactions on their naira cards.

Analysts told TheCable that the development could provide the needed buffer to further stabilise the naira.