For the second day running, the Naira continued its rebound against the United States Dollar on Friday, strengthening to N950/$ on the average in the parallel market and leaving speculators with a N175 loss following the N1,125/$ it traded for on Thursday.
This is the second day of recovery for the Naira following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s commencement on Thursday of clearance of some of its FX backlog, marking a pivotal effort to alleviate the mounting pressure in the foreign exchange market.
The impressive ascent by the Naira in the parallel market amounted to a staggering 18.42 per cent increase in its value within a single day, leaving speculators grappling with unexpected losses as the parallel market becomes inundated with US dollars.
Further interrogation of the performance of the naira in the parallel market this week unveils a fluctuating trend. It commenced the week trading at N1,110 on Monday, experienced a slight dip to N1,180 on Tuesday, and then exhibited a positive trend on Wednesday and Thursday, closing at N1,175 and N1,125, respectively. The most astounding surge occurred yesterday, with the Naira selling at N950/$1.
Simultaneously, the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window reflected renewed vigour, trading at an impressive rate of N776.14 per US dollar yesterday as it appreciated from the N793.28/$1 at the close of Thursday’s trading session.
Analysing intraday data provided by FMDQ, the highest spot rate observed was N1,100.60/$1, while the lowest spot rate recorded was N700/$1.
The British Pound closed on Friday at N1450//£1 at the parallel market while it exchanged for N966/£1 on the official channel.
The Euro also traded ₦1,250/ €1 while it was quoted at N839/€1 at the official window.