Naira trades below 1,000/$ in some segments of parallel market, appreciates by 6.28% on NAFEX — Report

Reports reaching Nigerian NewsDirect on Tuesday revealed that the Naira appreciated against the dollar significantly in some segments of the parallel market.

A Bureau de Change operator who spoke to NewsDirect said he was trading a dollar to naira for N950.

Another BDC operator in Lagos who spoke with our reporter was selling for N980/$.

Meanwhile, the NAFEX rate appreciated by 6.28 percent from N1,205.06/USD to N1,133.88/USD, while the official BDC rate appreciated by 0.64 percent from N1,108/USD to N1,101/USD.

Recall in March, Goldman Sachs had projected that the Naira would appreciate to N1,200 per Dollar in 2024. The Central  Bank of Nigeria has implemented several policy initiatives in recent months to bring stability to the foreign exchange market.

The CBN increased interest rates to 24.75 percent at the most recent meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which helped it recover losses from the two devaluations that occurred since June of last year.

Further gains for the naira result from the CBN’s ongoing intervention, which involves selling foreign exchange to Bureau De Change operators at a revised rate.

The market anticipates higher inflows of US dollars from the sale of foreign currency bonds in the second quarter as revealed by Finance Minister Wale Edun. This came when the government offered high-yield short-term debt products at a premium to entice overseas capital into the economy