Naira dips marginally to N1,461.90/$1

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A customer hands over Nigerian naira banknotes in a store in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. Revenue in Nigeria has fallen short of the government target by at least 45% every year since 2015, and shortfalls have been funded through increased borrowing. Photographer: KC Nwakalor/Bloomberg

Naira has recorded a marginal drop at the official market to N1,461.90 per dollar at the first trading day in the month of February 2024.

This is despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) removal of foreign exchange (FX) cap from the International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) and ordered banks to sell excess dollars.

This represents a marginal decline of 0.43% or N6.31 weaker than N1,455.59 it traded the previous day according to data from the NAFEM where forex is officially traded.

This despite analysts’ optimism that the new FX rules by the apex bank would shore up dollar supply from commercial banks and stabilise naira in the immediate terms.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had the previous day released a new circular addressing suspected cases of excessive foreign currency speculation and hoarding from Nigerian banks.

The domestic currency depreciated 0.43% to close at N1,461.90 to a dollar on the first day of February 2024.

This represents an N6.31 gain or a 0.43% decrease in the local currency compared to the N1,455.59 closed on Wednesday.

The intraday high recorded was N1526/$1, while the intraday low was N891/$1, representing a wide spread of N635/$1.

According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of the trading was $156.86 million, representing an 17% increase compared to the previous day.