Naira trades flat at parallel market

By Kayode Tokede

Naira at the parallel market traded flat on Thursday at N484 against the Dollar. The local currency declined by 0.52per cent and 0.29 per cent against the Euro and Pound Sterling at N585 and N680 respectively.

At the Investors & Exporters Foreign Exchange (I & EFX) window, the Naira lost by 0.14 per cent, 0.11per cent and 0.59per cent against the  Dollar, Euro and Pound Sterling closing at  N411.31, N501.76 and N582.51 respectively.

According to FMDQ, a total of $120.08 million was traded by Investors and Exporters on Thursday, Our correspondent gathered that Naira at the interbank market of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) traded flat at N379 against the Dollar.

Meanwhile, money market rates increased on Thursday as the Open Buy Back and Overnight rates rose by 50basis points and 25basis points to 15per cent and 15.25 per cent respectively.

The bond market was quiet today as yields remained flat across most tenures. Consequently, the yields on the 5-year and 7-year benchmark bonds close flat at 12.62 per cent and 13.01 per cent respectively, while the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond inched up by two basis points to 13.25 per cent.

In addition, the country’s foreign reserve plunged further by $27.6 million on Tuesday  to stand at $34.40 billion.

The nation’s foreign reserve declined from $34.43 billion recorded as of Monday to $34.40 billion on Tuesday, representing a 0.08per cent decline.

Nigeria’s foreign reserve has dipped by $851.54 million since 16th April 2021 to date, while year-to-date, the country’s reserve has dipped by about $970.49 million.

The recurrent decline in external reserve continues despite the recent increases recorded in the crude oil market and the continued effort by the apex bank to increase dollar inflow into the country.

Recall that the Central Bank earlier in May declared the indefinite continuation of the “Naira4dollar” scheme, which was originally set to end on 8th May 2021.