The naira appreciated on Thursday, hitting N1,165/$1 against the dollar at the parallel following the news that the Central Bank of Nigeria has begun to clear some of its FX backlog on Thursday.
People familiar with the matter said the apex bank had settled some of its FX obligations with certain banks such as Citibank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, among others.
The rise in naira value at parallel market represents an appreciation of N55 or 4.5% compared to the N1,220 it traded for on Wednesday, according to the data on AbokiFX.
Some Bureaux De Change operators traded the naira at N1,120/$1, the President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, told The PUNCH.
Gwadabe credited the rise to the CBN’s move to clear some of its backlog.
He said, “It is closing at N1,120. Even yesterday it came down to N1,150. Today, it started at N1,170 but it is closing at N1,120. Yes, this is because of the CBN’s move to clear its backlogs. There is a kind signal in the market. The CBN should continue to make clarifications.”
Similarly, naira also appreciatedat at the official market by 0.76% to close at N793.28/$1 on Thursday from N799.32/$1 on Wednesday, according to data on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
The data showed that the highest price recorded within the day’s trading was N1,018.60/$, and lowest price was N730.00/$.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
