Naira rises to N380/$

The naira Thursday appreciated by $5 to N380 per dollar in the parallel market due to improved dollar supply and decline in demand for dollars.

Vanguard survey of the parallel market revealed that the parallel market exchange rate, which opened the week at N405 per dollar and dropped to N385 per dollar on Tuesday, dropped further to N380 per dollar yesterday, translating to N5 appreciation for the naira

Consequently, the naira has gained N20 or 4.9 per cent this week in the parallel market.

Bureau De Change sources attributed the appreciation to the increased dollar supply to the segment from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

On Tuesday, the CBN sold $20,000 to each BDCs, up from $10,000 the previous week. The apex bank is expected to further sell $20,000 to each of the 3,185 BDCs today, thus boosting dollar supply.

This, according to President, Association of Bureaux De change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, will prompt further appreciation of the naira before the close of business today.

The increase dollar supply to BDCs is part of the apex bank’s intervention in the foreign exchange market aimed to addressing the wide gap between the interbank exchange rate and the parallel market exchange rate.

Since Monday February 20th 2017, when it commenced the intervention, the apex bank has injected $3.63 billion by intervening in the forex market 19 times as follows: Tuesday February 21st, $417 million; Thursday February 23rd, $231 million; Monday February 27th, $180 million; Friday March 3, $350 million; Monday March 6, N367 million; Tuesday March 7, $100 million; Thursday March 9, $170 million; Tuesday March 14, $190 million; Wednesday March 14, $150 million; Thursday March 16, $100 million,

Monday March 20, $143 million; Thursday March 23rd, $100 million; Monday March 27, $185 million; Thursday March 30, $100 million; Monday April 3rd, $240 million; Thursday April 6th, $100 million; Monday April 10, $100 million; Wednesday April 12, $250 million and $280 million on Tuesday April 18.