Market News

BY Hope Moses-Ashike 

The naira on Thursday closed steady at the official foreign exchange (FX) market, despite the fears of petrol price hike.

At the close of trading on Thursday, the dollar was quoted at N1,530.62, compared to N1,530.52 seen on Wednesday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Authorised currency dealers quoted the dollar at the highest rate of N1,545 on Thursday, the same rate seen on Wednesday.

The market recorded the lowest rate of N1,526.17 on Thursday, losing N26.17 compared to N1,500 per dollar quoted on Wednesday at the NFEM.

There are petrol price hike fears fuelled by President Trump’s sanctions on Iran, an oil-producing giant.

At the parallel market, popularly called the black market, the naira closed flat at N1,580 on Thursday, representing a loss of N1 or N3 from N1,579 or N1,577 closed on Wednesday at the black market.

Against other currencies, the naira appreciated by N5 as the pound was quoted at N2,035 on Thursday as against N2,040/£ on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the naira depreciated against the euro, losing N10 to close at N1,710 per euro from N1,700/€ closed the previous day on the black market.

Against the Canadian dollar and Chinese yuan, the naira traded steadily at N1,150 per Canadian dollar and N215 per yuan, respectively.