The recent recovery recorded by the Naira against the dollar continued on Thursday as the Nigerian currency appears to be buoyed by reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the clearance of Foreign Exchange backlogs.
The Naira traded at N1,120/$1 representing an appreciation of N50 or 4.27 per cent compared to the N1,170 it traded on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Naira appreciated by 0.76 per cent at the official market to close at N793.28 to the dollar on Thursday from N799.32/$ on Wednesday according to details on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
Data from the platform, which oversees official foreign exchange trading in Nigeria, revealed that the highest price recorded within the day’s trading was N1,018.60/$1, and the lowest price was N730.00/$1 before closing at N793/$1.
Although the intraday high touched N1,018.6/$1, the closing rate was significantly lower at N793.28/$1, indicating a substantial premium disparity of approximately N220/$1.
On Thursday, news broke that the apex bank had begun to clear some of its foreign exchange backlogs. Sources close to the matter confirmed that the apex bank had settled some of its FX obligations with certain banks such as Citibank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, among others.
The move seems to have added some impetus to the Naira.