Naira gains at parallel market despite weakening at I&E window
The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N416.67/$1 at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
Naira weakened further against the US dollar on Tuesday with a 0.04% fall to close at N416.67/$1 compared to N416.5/$1 recorded as of the close of trading activities on Monday, 7th February 2022. Naira depreciated at the official window despite the decrease in the demand for dollar.
On the other hand, Naira appreciated marginally at the parallel market on Tuesday 8th February 2022, to close at N569/$1 compared to N570/$1 recorded in the previous trading session. This is according to information obtained from BDC operators.
Similarly, the exchange rate appreciated at the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) forex market, trading at a minimum of N574.17 to a dollar on Wednesday morning. This represents a 0.057% uptick as opposed to N574.5/$ recorded in the previous trading session.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign reserve continued with a downtrend having reduced by 0.093% to close at $39.94 billion as of Monday, 7th February 2022.
The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window closed at N416.67/$1 on Tuesday, 8th February 2022, which represents a 0.04% depreciation compared to N416.5/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
The opening indicative rate jumped to N415.98/$1 on Tuesday, which represents a 56 kobo depreciation compared to N415.42/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.
An exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N416.67/$1, while it sold for as low as N410/$1 during intra-day trading.
Meanwhile, forex turnover at the official window dropped by 40.4% to $74.56 million on Tuesday.
According to data from FMDQ, forex turnover at the I&E window decreased from $125.1 million recorded on Monday 7th February 2022 to $74.56 million on Tuesday 8th February 2022.
Nigeria’s external reserve dropped further by 0.0% on Monday, 7th February 2022 to close at $39.94 billion, which represents a decline of $37.16 million from the $39.98 billion recorded as of the previous day.
The continuous decline in the country’s reserve level can be attributed to the Central Bank’s intervention in the official market in ensuring the stability of the exchange rate. Although it is worth noting that the decline has been very minimal in recent times, largely attributable to the rally in crude oil prices.
Nigeria’s reserve level declined by $481.37 million in January 2022 following the $66.17 million depreciation recorded in the previous month. Meanwhile, year-to-date, Nigeria’s reserve has declined by $577 million despite the rally at the global crude oil market.
