The concerns about the rate at which the Nigerian naira exchanges for the dollar and the surge of the parallel market premium over the past weeks have dialed down as the naira picked up some days ago and maintains the upward trajectory.
The week began on a bullish note for the naira as its value strengthened across the official and unofficial foreign exchange markets. For the parallel market, this appreciation in the value of the naira spilled over from the last days of the previous week, as of this reporting period.
According to the information gathered from BDC operators and forex marketers in Lagos, the currency of Africa’s largest economy exchanges for about N625 for a dollar. On a day-on-day basis, the naira ticked up by 6 percent from the N665 for which it exchanged with the dollar. Also, historical rates show that the naira rose by 7.4 percent from N660/$ on a week-on-week basis.
The enduring scarcity of dollars in the forex market over the last two weeks placed the naira under massive pressure, causing a drastic fall in the value of the naira to hit a record low of about N720/$.
Marketers anticipate further appreciation in the value of the naira against the dollar. However, the high volatility in the value of the naira is at a huge cost to the Nigerian business environment as the instability of the naira is affecting businesses.
