Naira Closes 1,402/$ at Official Market

The naira traded at a loss at the official market, depreciating to N1,402 against the United States dollar on Thursday.

According to data from the FMDQ exchange securities, the naira dropped by N12 or 0.86 per cent from the N1,390 recorded at the close of trading activity on Tuesday.

There was no trading activity on Wednesday due to the Worker’s Day celebration.

At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, the intraday high closed at N1,445 on Thursday weaker than N1,450 on Tuesday. The intraday low also depreciated to N1,299 on Thursday as against N1,200 on Tuesday.

Dollars supply at NAFEX appreciated by 3.1 per cent or $7m to $232 on Thursday from $225.36m recorded on Tuesday.

The naira had depreciated following a renews demand for the greenback at both the official and parallel market.

Based on data from the FMDQ official trading platform, the naira gained N28.15 on the final trading day of April, settling at N1,390.96/$ as against N1,419/$ on April 29.

The positive trend was also reflected in trading volumes, with a 52.45 per cent surge in forex turnover, reaching $225.36m, up from the prior volume of $147.83m.

However, compared with the beginning of April, the April 30 rate was a 5.8 per cent depreciation from N1,309.39 seen on April 1.

Similarly, Bureau De Change operators said the naira recorded a reduction in value at the parallel market on Thursday.