Naira exchange rate gap widens in official, black market

The gap between Naira exchange rate at the black and official markets widened further on Wednesday as the local currency dropped by 6.83 per cent in the Investors’ and Exporters’ window with the price of the United States Dollar (USD) increasing by N50.77 kobo.

FMDQ Exchange, the official market rate aggregator, disclosed that at the end of trading, the naira to dollar rate was N793.70/$1.

This means the USD cost buyers more on Wednesday than the American greenback did on Tuesday when the price was N742.93/$1.

However, the United States currency reached a peak of N853/$1 before trading closed, but the dollar exchange rate also hit the day’s lowest level of N699.50/$1.

The aggregator also reported that the foreign exchange traders transacted $87.19 million worth of forex in the Investors’ and Exporters’ window.

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It was gathered that the authorised dealers and their clients recorded N34.55 million or a 28.38 per cent drop in the value of foreign exchange transacted compared to the previous day’s $121.74 million.

The black market also recorded an increase in the value of the USD, as it was sold at an N816.6/$1 rate. The price was raised from the previous day’s N810/$1.

A report by Naira Rates, a parallel rate aggregator, showed that the pound went on sale at the average rate of N1090.13/£1, surpassing the N1075.4/£1 offered on Tuesday.

The asking price of the euro was N937.4/€1 in the black market, indicating the cost of the European currency was increased by N13.8 kobo, from the N923.6/€1 average rate posted the preceding day.