In a positive turn of events, the Nigerian Naira has broken its two-day losing streak in the New Year, registering gains against the US Dollar for the first time on Thursday, January 4th, 2024.
Data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, the official platform for forex trading, reveals that the domestic currency appreciated by 13.51%, closing at N895.23/$1 at the end of the business day. This signifies an impressive gain of N139.89, indicating a substantial 13.51% increase compared to the previous day’s closing rate of N1035.12.
Throughout the trading day, the Naira saw an intraday high of N1268/$1 and an intraday low of N701/$1, reflecting a substantial spread of N567/$1.
Forex turnover at the official NAFEM window decreased by 20.06%, amounting to $68.49 million at the close of trading.
While the official forex market showed gains for the Naira, the parallel market witnessed depreciation as the Naira dropped to N1255/$1, slipping from the N1230/$1 recorded the day before, indicating a depreciation of N25. Peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1255.26/$1.
However, the Naira demonstrated strength against other currencies, gaining N15 against the British Pound to close at N1,540/£1 compared to the N1,555/£1 on the previous day. The Canadian Dollar maintained relative stability, closing at N980/CA$1, slightly up from the N975/CA$1 recorded the day before. On the downside, the Naira depreciated against the Euro, settling at ₦1,320/€1, down from the previous closing price of ₦1,300/€1, indicating a decline of N20.