Market News

The naira depreciated further at the black market on Friday.

“Today, the dollar demand is high, but the currency is scarce, that is why we exchanged at N610.00 and sold at N615.00 at Uyo,” said Shuaibu, a trader in Uyo.

By Abdulkareem Mojeed

Naira gained against the U.S. dollar on Friday, its second consecutive day of gain at the official market.

The currency opened at N419.79 to a dollar and closed at N420.19 on Friday, data posted by FMDQ, where forex is officially revealed.

This implies a N0.05 or 0.01 per cent appreciation from N420.17 it traded in the previous session on Thursday.

The local currency oscillated to an intraday high of N413.00 and fell to a low of N444.00 before settling at N420.17 per $1 on Friday, the last business day of the week.

Foreign exchange supply plummeted to $162.98 million (22.73 per cent) from $201.81 million recorded in the previous session on Thursday.

The weakest rate the naira traded at the Nafex window this week is N421.33 per $1, while the N420.12 it exchanged at the close of today’s business is the highest gain the naira recorded this week.

Similarly, the domestic currency depreciated further at the black market on Friday, exchanging at an average of N610 and selling at N613.00 to a dollar.

“Today, the dollar demand is high, but the currency is scarce, that is why we exchanged at N610.00 and sold at N615.00 at Uyo,” said Shuaibu, a trader in Uyo.