By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The value of the Naira depreciated in the official foreign exchange market at the close of trading on Thursday, February 7.
Data from FMDQ securities showed that at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market the forex market closed at N1500.65/1$ on Thursday.
Thursday’s rate represents a slight depreciation when compared to the exchange rate of N1,499.76/$1 reported on Wednesday’s market.
The latest performance of the naira means that the Nigerian currency has depreciated for two consecutive days against the US Dollar.
Naira against dollar in black market
It was a different scenario for the Naira in the parallel market, popularly known as the black forex market.
BDC operators told Legit.ng that the Dollar depreciated further on Thursday, February 6, selling at N1,552, while the buying rate stood at N1,530.
This represents an improvement from Wednesday’s rates, where the Dollar was sold at N1,582 and bought at N1,565.
Naira/dollar: Official and unofficial market rate gap closes
The latest movement in the naira exchange rate indicated that the gap between the official and black markets is nearing convergence.
With the black market exchange rate now at N1,530/$, and official rate at N1500.65/ the gap between the official and black markets is now N30.
CBN’s latest naira rates against other currencies
Here are the latest exchange rates against other currencies on the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
NFEM rate is derived at Volume Weighted Average and stands as the official exchange rate for the day.
1. CFA – N2.38
2. Yuan/Renminbi – N205.75
3. Danish Krona – N208.47
4. Euro – N1555.18
5. Yen – N9.87
6. Riyal – N399.92
7. South African Rand – N80.81
8. Pounds Sterling – N1859.98
CBN permits BDCs to buy dollar from official sources
The CBN recently announced that it had extended the window of allowing Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to buy FX from the official market until the end of May.
This policy allows BDCs to purchase $25,000 worth of forex per week and should not resell to their customers at a profit margin above one per cent.
Also, BDCs can only disburse purchased FX for specific
transactions, with a maximum of $5,000 per transaction, quarterly