CBN’s shakeup leaves Naira gains 0.18% at official market

Naira appreciated against the dollar by 0.18 per cent at the Investors and Exporters (I&E), on Tuesday, the first trading day after a shakeup at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

After trading on Tuesday, the Naira to dollar was quoted at N471.67 as against the last close of N472.50 on Friday.

Most currency dealers who participated in the foreign exchange auction on Tuesday maintained bids between N460.00 and N477.00 per dollar.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Friday, suspended Emefiele, following the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.

The local currency on Tuesday gained 0.66 per cent against the dollar at the parallel market following low demand as speculators adopt a wait-and-see approach, after the suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“There is no demand for dollars, people are not buying because they are speculating that the dollar will fall following the CBN Governor’s suspension.”

At the money market, the Nigeria Treasury Bills (NTB) secondary market closed on a flat note on Tuesday with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 6.34 per cent, according to a report by FSDH research.

Average yields across short-term and medium-term maturities closed flat at 4.49 per cent and 5.30 per cent, respectively. However, the average yield across the long-term maturities decreased by 0.01 per cent.

NTB for February 8, 2024; March 7, 2024; May 9, 2024; and April 11, 2024 maturity bills witnessed mild buying interest with a yield decline of 1 basis point each.

The Overnight (O/N) rate increased by 0.20 per cent to close at 12.30 per cent on Tuesday as against the last close of 12.10 percent, and the Open Repo (OPR) rate also increased by 0.20 per cent to close at 11.90 percent compared to 11.70 per cent on the previous day.