Naira exchanges at N429/$1 at official window, drops at black market

Naira closed on a positive note on Wednesday, with a 0.34% appreciation against the US dollar to close at N429.2/$1 compared to N430.67/$1 recorded in the previous trading session.

A total of $123.78 million was traded in the market on Wednesday, representing a 21.9% increase when compared to the $158.68 million traded on Tuesday.

In the same vein, the exchange rate at the black market appreciated on Wednesday to close at N665/$1 compared to N670/$1 recorded on Tuesday, representing a 0.75% currency appreciation against the US dollar.

Similarly, at the peer-to-peer market, naira rose to N616.66/$1 on Thursday morning from N652.5/$1 recorded on Wednesday, representing a rally of 5.5% compared to the previous day.

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This is following a shocking depreciation recorded in the previous week, when the naira fell to a record N705/$1 as a result of FX scarcity and panic buying.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves recorded its eleventh consecutive decline on Tuesday, dropping by 0.1% to stand at $39.07 billion from $39.1 billion recorded as of Monday, 1st August 2022.

The decline in the country’s external reserve could be attributed to the increased flow of FX in the official market in the past two days.

Furthermore, an exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded during intra-day trading before it settled at N429.2/$1, while it traded as low as N414/$1 during intra-day trading.

A total of $123.78 million in FX value exchanged hands on Wednesday, which is 21.9% lower than the $158.68 million that was traded in the previous trading session.