Naira records N100 gain, now exchanges for N840 to $1 in parallel market

The Naira yesterday made a massive gain of N100, closing at N840/$ at the parallel market in Lagos, The Nation is reporting.

It, however, closed lower at N850/$ in Abuja markets, representing a 9.57 per cent appreciation compared with Tuesday’s rate.

At the Investor and Exporter (I&E) window – the official market – the naira closed at N759 to the dollar, creating around N81 premium between the official and parallel markets. There was a $61 million turnover at the I&E window

According to Bureau De Change operators in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, the naira started the day at N940/$ and gradually increased to the current rate.
One of the traders, Ibrahim Bakori, told The Nation that he was surprised by the naira’s appreciation.

Asked what he thought was responsible, Bakori said it was “the result of the meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the Acting CBN Governor Folashodun Shonubi”. Another Forex dealer, Nura, expressed shock at what he described as the “big fall” of the dollar at the parallel market.

Just like Bakori, Nura said the meeting between President Tinubu and Shonubi had sent signals of something significant about to happen in the Forex market.
Reacting to the news that the CBN might flood the market dollars in the coming days to check the fall of the Naira, a financial expert, Dr. Victor Adoji, cautioned against the planned release of dollars into the system by the CBN.

He said: “The money outside the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), supposedly over N2 trillion, will swallow the ‘flood’ especially because of the rational appetite of Nigerians for holding dollar”. He urged the CBN to “take a look at the outstanding demand portfolio for the dollar” before releasing more.