Naira begins new month on a negative note

The Nigerian currency ended the month of February on a low, following a negative trade on Monday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market.

Data from FMDQ showed that Naira ended the first trading day of the new week and the last day for the month of February at N416.67/$1.

This implies a 67 kobo or 0.16 per cent depreciation when compared to N416.00/$1 it was traded last Friday.

The Nigerian currency also ended February with a devaluation of 0.22 percent after opening the love month at N415.75 to a dollar.

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Nigerian currency’s poor performance on Monday occurred as the value of FX transactions at the official market declined to $80.32 million, 40.2 per cent or $54.07 million lower than the $134.39 million recorded at the previous session.

Also, Naira dropped in value to Pound Sterling by 64 kobo to trade at N558.23/£1 compared with the previously traded rate of N557.59/£1, according to data published on CBN’s website.

Against the Euro, the Naira lost N1.35 to sell for N466.37/€1 in contrast to the previous N465.02/€1.

Black market traders noted that Naira was exchanged to the United States currency on Monday at N575/$1, the same rate from Friday last week.