There was a noticeable depreciation of the Naira against the US Dollar on Monday, as rates hit ₦1,260 per dollar in the parallel foreign exchange (FX) market.
This translates to a 2.44% decrease from the previous rate of ₦1,230 per dollar recorded on April 19.
In the parallel market, currency traders, commonly known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, are buying the dollar at ₦1,230 and selling it at ₦1,260, maintaining a profit margin of ₦30 per dollar.
The value depreciation is even more noticable in the official FX window, where it dropped to ₦1,234.49 per dollar on Monday.
This represents a 5.51% drop from the rate of ₦1,169.99 per dollar seen on April 19, according to data from the FMDQ Exchange, the oversight platform for official FX trading in Nigeria.
During this period of volatility, the naira traded as high as ₦1,295 and as low as ₦1,051 on the FMDQ Exchange.
Amid these fluctuations, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reassured the public of its efforts to stabilize the FX rate.
CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, emphasized this commitment during a press conference at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, held on April 20.
He stated that the regulator is focused on ensuring that the exchange rate reaches an appropriate level of price discovery, reflecting real market conditions.
He said, “Again, to be honest, I think we should expect that there will be increases here and there, ups and downs and even from what you’ve reported yesterday, from what I gather, the naira has begun strengthening overnight.”
The CBN Governor however, is optimistic that the local currency will continue to appreciate against foreign currencies.