The Nigerian naira maintained its upward momentum against the US dollar, reaching a rate of N980 per dollar in the parallel market on Friday.
This information was relayed by Aminu Gwadabe, the President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), through an official statement.
Earlier on the same day, the naira had appreciated to N1,040 against the dollar in the parallel foreign exchange market segment.
Gwadabe attributed the naira’s resurgence to the effect of measures such as dollar liquidity injection and naira stabilization through interest rate adjustments.
He acknowledged the positive aspect of this development, stating, “It is a good development as it is a great risk to speculate, hoard, and substitute naira for other currencies.
However, the speculators are usually interested in the elements of sustainability of the feat so far achieved; it is panic selling as against panic buying.”
In light of this, Gwadabe emphasized the importance of the Central Bank’s management to provide further clarification and implement some of the association’s recommendations, including the inclusion of Bureaux De Change (BDCs) in the foreign exchange market.
This, he explained, would enable BDCs to play a crucial role in addressing the needs of retail consumers.
“The BDCs are necessary in the demand measures of the apex bank, transaction monitoring mechanism, and clients’ utilization with correcting and moderating potentials,” he stressed.
He also noted the relationship between increasing reserves and the heightened demand for Nigeria’s primary export commodity, crude oil, which is partly due to increased inventories in the United States and rising tensions in the Middle East.
Gwadabe cautioned against undermining the naira, as it appears that the Central Bank has the tools and strategies to sustain the progress achieved.
This positive trend in the naira’s exchange rate reflects measures implemented by the authorities to bolster the currency’s value against the US dollar.