Naira appreciated in the official market, gaining 1.64% to close at ₦1,408.04 to the United States Dollar on NAFEM on Monday. During intra-day trading, the naira exchanged for a high of ₦1,442.00 and a low of ₦1,300.00.
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In the parallel market, Naira Rates on its X (formerly Twitter) posted that the naira appreciated to ₦1,405.46 on Monday.
Mon 25 Mar, 2024 • 11:00 AM
💵 1 USD ⇛ ₦1,405.466
💷 1 GBP ⇛ ₦1,820.940
💶 1 EUR ⇛ ₦1,559.767
💶 1 CAD ⇛ ₦1,059.277
v1.1.6— ₦aira Rates (@naira_rates) March 25, 2024
The Cable reported that currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the naira at N1,440 to the greenback at the street market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday disclosed that its sold US$10,000 to Bureau De Change operators at a rate of ₦1,251.00 per U.S dollar.
In the circular, CBN instructed each BDCs to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.
“We refer to our letter to you referenced TED/DIR/CON/GOM/001/071 in respect of the above subject wherein the CB approved a second tranche of sale of FX to eligible BDCs.
“We write to inform you of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at the rate of N1,251/$1. The BDCs are to sell to eligible end users at a spread of NOT MORE THAN 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.
“Please note that any BDC that breaches above terms shall be sanction appropriately, including outright suspension from further participation in the sale,” the circular reads in part.
The bank had in February disclosed it is resuming sales of dollars to BDCs to address the lingering price distortions affecting the naira exchange rate in the forex markets.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur