Naira appreciates to N695 per dollar at ‘black market

The naira, on Monday, appreciated against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange market.

The parallel section is popularly known as the ‘black market.’

Bureaux De Change operators, popularly known as ‘abokis’, who spoke to TheCable in Lagos, quoted the naira at N695 to a dollar.

The figure represents a gain of N15 compared to the N710 it traded last week.

The traders put the buying price of the dollar at N680 and the selling price at N695, leaving a profit margin of N15.

They attributed the appreciation in the value of the naira to the adequate availability of dollars in the market to meet demand.

“The rates have been dropping. Some people have bought dollars from different states like Kano where it is cheap. They brought it to Lagos. Now, we have more dollars in the market compared to last week,” Musa, a BDC operator, said.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria stopped forex sales to BDC operators in July last year, accusing them of being involved in illegal financial flows and money laundering in Nigeria.