Naira slumps again at official market

The official exchange rate of the naira against the dollar ended its three-day winning streak, falling by 4.26% to N1602.43 per US dollar on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, compared to N1534.19/$1, according to data published by FMDQ.

This represents a loss of N68.24 when compared to the N1,534.19/$1 it closed on, on Monday.

The intraday high was N1,652.40/$1, while the intraday low was N1,450/$1, representing a spread of N202.40/$1 higher than the lean spread of N175.40/$1 the previous day.

Similarly, the naira slumped against the dollar at the parallel market slumping to N1,625/$1 as against the N1,610 /$1 it traded the previous day representing a loss of N15 as the difference between the official and parallel windows began to converge.

The naira stopped its recent losses against the British Pound to trade at N2,050/£1 same as the previous trading day’s price of N2,050/£1.

The naira closed flat against the Canadian dollar to trade at N1,150/CA$1, same as the previous trading day’s rate.

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The Euro slumped against the naira to trade at ₦1,720/€1 as against the previous closing price of ₦1,750/€1 representing a gain of N30 for the local currency.

The intraday high was N1,652.40/$1, while the intraday low was N1,450/$1, representing a spread of N202.40/$1.

According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of trading was $291.78 million, representing a 63.26% increase compared to the previous day.

Forex turnover has averaged over $200 million in the past week as trading continues to pick up in the official market.

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Meanwhile, on the parallel market, the Naira depreciated against the dollar as it was quoted for N1,630/$1, reflecting 1.84% compared to the previous day’s quote of N1,600.

At above N1,600/$1, the exchange rate between the naira and dollar is down by 43% in 2024 and remains one of the worst currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is despite several policy measures introduced by the apex bank to resolve the forex crisis.

Officials close to the central bank have often cited the activities of cryptocurrency traders as a major contributory factor to the exchange rate depreciation. Critics of this government stand will point to the depreciation of the naira as further evidence that the naira is inherently weak with or without the activities of cryptocurrency traders.