As of Sunday, October 27, the parallel market exchange rate for the Nigerian naira is N1,740/$1.
However, the Naira remained constant with little appreciation in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign currency Market, NAFEM, as dealers speculated that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, may intervene at any time to relieve pressure on the currency rate.
According to FMDQ data, the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM declined to N1,600 per dollar from N1,601.2 per dollar on Thursday, implying a naira appreciation of N1.2.
Dealers who talked with Financial Vanguard over the weekend said they estimate the exchange rate to close this month around N1,750/$1, while 2024 might end at more than N1,800/$1.
If this trend continues, by end of the year the local currency would have wiped out the gains it made in March this year when it suddenly appreciated massively, climbing down from an all time high rate of N1,820/ $1 in February 2024 to N1,310/ $1 and further down to N1,240/ $1.
However, the appreciation was halted in April and subsequently, depreciation began and sustained till last week.
Year-on-Year, YoY, Naira depreciated in the parallel market by 70.5 percent to N1,705 per dollar at close of third quarter trading on September 30, 2024 from average N1,000/ $1 in September 2023.
Year-to-Date, YtD, it depreciated in the market by 16.7 percent from N1,490/ $1 in January 2024.
The Naira recorded a massive 104% YoY depreciation in the official segment, NAFEM, to N1540.78 per dollar in September 2024 from N755.27 in September 2023. However, YoY NAFEM has recorded just 9.9 percent depreciation to N1600/ $1 last weekend from N1,455.9/ $1 in January 2024.
