The naira strengthened sharply to N1,390 per dollar in the black market on Monday, narrowing the gap between the parallel market and the official foreign exchange (FX) window to 2.5 per cent.
Data gathered from street traders showed that the naira on Monday morning rose by 2.16 per cent to N1,390, up N30 from the N1,420 quoted on Friday in the parallel market.
The appreciation has reduced the exchange rate to N35 from N92 recorded on Wednesday last week, indicating continued convergence between the two markets.
Also read: Naira gap narrows further as BDCs await dollar supply
On Friday, the gap between the official FX market and the parallel market had already narrowed to N65 as bureau de change (BDC) operators prepared to access fresh dollar supplies from banks after the Central Bank reopened the retail FX window for the bureaus.
The naira depreciated marginally for the second time last week, depreciating by N1.76 as the dollar was quoted at N1,355.42 on Friday, a loss of 0.13 per cent compared to N1,353.66 recorded on Thursday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated.
Hope Musa-Ashike
Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with over a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria's financial system and broader economy. She closely follows market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators and global developments and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policy makers and households. Their reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance and investment risks. She also covers major international events and travels periodically to Washington, DC, to report on the World Bank/IMF spring and annual meetings. His dedication to financial journalism has earned him numerous recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programs. She is an alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and the completion of a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.
