The Federal government is expecting the official exchange rate for Naira to the dollar to be devalued by 6.19% in 2023.
The government, in its budget circular call for 2023 sent to the heads of Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDA’s), projects the Naira exchange rate to the dollar at N435.57 compared to the N410.15 used for the 2022 budget.
Nigerian currency in recent months has come under intense pressure over forex scarcity and black-market traders’ activities.
The government also expects the pressure to continue into 2024 and further depreciation to N435.92.
However, it is expected that in the fiscal year of 2025, Naira will recover to N435.57.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, August 17, the Nigerian currency increased in value to the US dollar at the official market.
Data from FMDQ securities shows that at the Investors and Exporters window where Naira is officially traded, Naira closed at N429.38 to a dollar.
This represents a N1.29 gain when compared to the N430.67 it closed on Tuesday.
Naira’s strong performance comes amid a massive increase in forex supply to the market.
FMDQ reports that traders at the I&E window carried out $120.46 million worth of transactions on Wednesday compared to the $50 million previously.
Although it remained evident that scarcity persists, the lowest Naira exchange during trading activities was N417/$.
At the black market, traders put the Naira exchange rate to a dollar at N680.