Naira gains N872.59/$1 in official market

The Nigerian Naira on Wednesday gained against the dollar on the official market.

The Naira appreciated 1.52 percent to close at N872.59 to a dollar at the close of business, data from the NAFEM revealed.

This represents an N13.29 gain or a 1.52 percent increase in the local currency compared to the N885.88 closed on Friday last week.

The intraday high recorded was N1235.65/$1, while the intraday low was N740/$1, representing a wide spread of N495.65/$1.

According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of the trading was $127.93 million, representing a 38.81 percent increase compared to the previous day.

However, the naira dropped marginally at the parallel forex market where forex is sold unofficially, the exchange rate quoted at N1233/$1, representing a 0.24 percent decline over what it closed the previous day, while peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1197.60/$1.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it has made tranche payments to 31 banks to clear the backlog of foreign exchange forward obligations.