Naira appreciates to N1,600/$ at parallel market

By Abubakar Yunusa

The naira appreciated to N1,600 to the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday.
The currency appreciated by a 6.70 percent gain from N1,715/$ recorded on December 5.
Currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the dollar at N1,570 and the selling price at N1,600 — leaving a profit margin of N30.
The dollar rate represents the lowest price the greenback has been sold since August 13 when the naira traded at N1,595/$.
In the first week of December, the naira experienced a positive outing in the parallel market.
According to traders in the parallel market, the local currency appreciated to N1,730/$ on Monday — from N1,735/$ traded on November 29.
The naira appreciated further, trading at N1,725/$ on Tuesday, and N1,695/$ on Wednesday.
However, on Thursday, the naira reversed the appreciation streak, declining to N1,715/$.
In the official window, the naira appreciated from December 2 to December 6.
The naira traded at N1,672 per dollar on November 29, however, data from the newly introduced electronic foreign exchange matching system (EFEMS) platform, showed that the local currency appreciated to N1,660/$ on Monday.
Naira extended its gains to Tuesday after settling at N1,625/$ at the close of business, before appreciating further to N1,608/$ on Wednesday and N1,567/$ on Thursday.
At the close of trading on Friday, the naira appreciated to N1,535/$.
On October 3, the apex bank announced the introduction of the EFEMS FX matching system, which kicked off on December 1.
Three days later, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said the apex bank’s decision to implement the EFEMS shows the financial regulator is serious about fair and efficient markets.