Naira Appreciates to N1,725/$ in Parallel Market

• The Naira appreciated to N1,725 per dollar in the parallel market, while the NAFEM rate rose to N1,639.5 per dollar
• The volume of dollars traded in the official market increased by 24%, reaching $244.96 million, indicating improved market activity

The Naira appreciated to N1,725 per dollar in the parallel market, rising from N1,730 per dollar on Wednesday.

In a similar trend, the Naira also gained value in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), appreciating to N1,639.5 per dollar from the previous day’s rate of N1,681.65 per dollar, marking a N42.15 increase in value.

Data from the FMDQ exchange platform indicated that the volume of dollars traded in the official market increased by 24%, reaching $244.96 million from $196.78 million traded on Wednesday.

As a result, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM exchange rates expanded to N85.5 per dollar from N48.35 per dollar on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s Naira showing signs of stability — IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has noted signs of increased stability in Nigeria’s naira, highlighting recent interest rate hikes and efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear foreign exchange backlogs.

This development was underlined during a press event in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, when the IMF praised Nigeria’s efforts to stabilise the economy.

The International Monetary Fund says: “In Nigeria, rate hikes and the clearing of overdue domestic central bank foreign exchange obligations have helped the naira show more signs of stability.”

The IMF financial counsellor and director of monetary and capital markets, Tobias Adrian, also acknowledged the CBN’s efforts to combat inflation and improve the forex market’s performance.