Naira gains, trades at N763/$ at I&E window amid sallah celebration

By Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The naira, on Tuesday, appreciated by 0.67 percent to N763 to a dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window.
Figures from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees foreign exchange trading in Nigeria, show that the greenback was quoted at the rate of N763 as against N768.17 quoted on Monday.
The local currency, which opened on Tuesday at N760.50, recorded a high of N841 and a low of N467.
The daily foreign exchange market turnover rose by 23.98 percent to $245.65 million from $198.13 million published in the previous market session on Monday.
Meanwhile, the greenback was sold at N760 at the parallel section of the market, Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs) in the Ikeja area of Lagos.
Since President Bola Tinubu made a case for the revamping of monetary policy in his inaugural speech on May 29, Nigeria has shown seriousness in critically reforming the financial sector.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, on June 14, announced the unification of all segments of the forex exchange (FX) market, signalling the floating of the naira.
This was quickly accompanied by the removal of restrictions on inflows into domiciliary accounts. On Tuesday, the apex bank pegged daily transaction limits to N50,000 for contactless payment.
The moves seemed to be yielding gains with Nigeria’s stocks rising to a two-month high in May. Later on June 13, the country’s bonds raced to a five-month high after the president suspended Godwin Emefiele as the central bank governor.
Investors considered Emefiele’s exit to be an end to a raft of policies that have kept foreign investments away from Africa’s largest economy.
“Glad to see President Bola Tinubu taking concrete steps to scrap Nigeria’s harmful government subsidies and multiple exchange rates,” David Malpass, former president of the World Bank, had said.

“These are important steps toward currency stability, lower inflation, and reduced corruption in Africa’s most populous country.”