By Fawaz Adebisi
The Naira reached a new low of N885 per dollar at the parallel market on Thursday.
Closing on Thursday, the foreign exchange (FX) market saw the Naira weaken by 1.14 percent, with the dollar trading at N885/$1 compared to N875/$1 on Wednesday at the parallel market.
This depreciation was attributed to robust demand for dollars by importers and travelers.
In November 2022, the Naira first weakened to N885 per dollar due to demand pressure in the black market.
The pressure on the Naira persisted at the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) forex window – Nigeria’s official FX market – with the Naira depreciating by 4.70 percent against the dollar.
After Thursday’s trading, the dollar was quoted at N776.50/$1 at the I&E window, up from Wednesday’s N741.64/$1, as indicated by data from the FMDQ.
Buyers and sellers maintained bids as high as N804 per dollar on Thursday and Tuesday, stronger than Monday’s N830/$1, but weaker than Friday’s N799.50/$1.
At the I&E window, the market auction recorded lower bids of N700 per dollar on Thursday and Tuesday, stronger than Monday’s N651.00 per dollar, but weaker than Friday’s N465.00 bid.
The daily turnover of the FX market, reflecting transaction volume at the I&E window, declined by 34.01 percent to $44.43 million on Thursday from Tuesday’s $67.33 million.
