13th February, 2021
The Nigerian Naira continued its rally against the U.S. dollar, gaining additional N2 today, in the unofficial market.
On Monday, the Naira had opened at N480 to the U.S. dollar.
But as at today, the US Dollar rate was ₦473 against Naira, a 1.46% fall for Dollar to Naira exchange rate for this week so far.
The CBN still retains the exchange rate at N379 to US Dollar.
This means that there is a N100 gap between official and black market rate.
For other currencies, the Naira gained ₦ 1.71 or 0.33 percent over the British Sterling in the official market.
The exchange rate fell to ₦ 523.79 from previous day.
The Naira also gained 0.17 percent over the Euro to exchange at N458.9 as at Friday.
It was not clear why the Naira is strengthening in the black market.
On Monday, the Naira fell and bid-ask spreads widened as the local spot currency market struggled with a scarcity of U.S. dollars, traders said.
One dealer at a top-tier Nigerian bank quoted the Naira at 395-402 per dollar in the over-the-counter market from 392-394 Naira in the previous session.
Others quoted the Naira at 397.21 to the dollar.
Traders said few deals were executed between banks as rising demand for dollars from importers and foreign investors seeking to repatriate funds piled pressure on the Naira.
Nigeria’s currency has been losing ground on spot and derivatives markets, mirroring weakness on the black market, where it trades more freely.
The Naira dropped to a record intra-day low last week on the spot market .
It had been quoted at 480 Naira to the dollar on the black market since January, until it appreciated this week.