Market News
Naira recovers as demand for dollar moderates in black market - BUSINESSDAY
Hope Moses-Ashike
The naira, which has depreciated for over two weeks, on Monday recovered by 0.95 percent as demands for the dollar moderated in the parallel market, also known as black market.
During the intra-day trading on Monday, the naira traded at N1,575, marking a N15 gain compared to N1,590 traded last week in the black market.
Traders said on Monday that the demand for the dollar by end users moderated as the market witnessed calmness.
On Friday the naira fell to a new low of N1,590 in the parallel market following a shortage of dollars. The first time the naira depreciated to this level was on February 16, 2024, according to data compiled from street traders and online data collating platforms.
Analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited said the naira depreciated on renewed USD demand-supply imbalance.
The naira on Friday appreciated by 1.96 percent after about one week depreciation, to close the week at N1,517.93, marking a gain of N29.88 compared to N1,547.81 per dollar quoted on Thursday, at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated.
Nigeria’s external reserves gained 5bps week/week to $38.4 billion as of March 12, 2025, according to data from the CBN.
