Naira depreciates to N1,560/$ in parallel market – lowest in three months

The Nigerian naira fell to N1,561 against the dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday.

The rate represents a loss of 1.88 percent from the figure (N1,532) recorded on July 9.

According to data from FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees foreign exchange (FX) trading in Nigeria, the local currency hit an intra-day trading high of N1,585 and a low of N1,475.

The current FX figure represents the lowest since March 18 when the naira exchanged at N1,572 to the greenback.

At the parallel section of the market, the local currency traded at N1,550 on Wednesday — depreciating by 0.65 percent from N1,540 on July 9.

Currency traders, known as bureau de change (BDC) operators, quoted the buying rate at N1,530 and the selling price at N1,550 — leaving a profit margin of N20.

The local currency has witnessed marginal fluctuations in both the parallel and official markets within the last two days.

At the official market, the local currency depreciated to N1,523 on July 8 — from N1,509/$ on July 5 — and further tumbled to N1,532 on July 9.

It recorded a marginal appreciation to N1,523 per dollar on July 8 at the parallel market — from N1,525 on July 5.

However, the rally was quickly reversed on July 9, with the currency sliding to N1,540.

The two-day depreciation of the naira comes amid a recorded a rise in the external reserves of Nigeria.

The external reserves of one of Africa’s largest economies increased to $35.05 billion on July 8 — the highest since May 30, 2023.