Naira in marginal gain as street forex market shows relative stability
Oluwaseun Afolabi is Businessamlive Reporter.
You can contact him on afolabi.oluwaseun@businessamlive.com with stories and commentary.
The naira on Wednesday gained marginally as it traded N359 to the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos after a 10-day stable streak.
However, the Nigerian currency declined against other major world currencies as it traded N478 and N417 against the pound sterling and euro respectively from N480 and N418 previously.
A business a.m. survey of the markets in Ikeja, the capital Lagos State indicated volatility as the dollar began the day trading for as high as N361 per dollar, only to drop to N359/N360 later in the day. The pound sterling also began the day at N480 and then fell to N478/N479 by the evening, while the euro traded at N418 in the morning to close at N417.
Specifically, at the Lagos Airport Hotel axis on Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja, the dollar was sold at a non-negotiable price of N360, and the pound at N479. The value of the naira against the euro was N417.
In the street market towards the international wing of the Muritala Mohammed Airport, the rates of the currencies remained high with the dollar trading at N360; the pound sterling at N480, and the euro at N418.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the naira opened trading at N360 to the dollar, while the pound and euro closed at N480 and N418 respectively after an early morning opening at N473 and N410 respectively.
At the Import-Export window, the naira exchanged for N362.33 to the dollar as total turnover surged 89.42 percent to $190.68 million, most of the transactions traded within the region of N358 – N363.50 per dollar.