The naira traded largely flat on Wednesday across the official foreign exchange (FX) market as liquidity slowed despite rising external reserves, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) endorsed Nigeria’s plan to remove the remaining foreign exchange restrictions.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the naira depreciated marginally by N2.89, with the dollar quoted at N1,360.07 on Wednesday, representing a 0.21 percent loss compared with N1,357.18 quoted on Tuesday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
Activity weakened across key market segments. At the interbank FX market, the number of deals declined by 40.8 percent to 74 on Wednesday from 125 on Tuesday. Total interbank turnover also fell sharply to $54.29 million from $125.69 million recorded the previous day.
At the NFEM window, the number of deals dropped by 29.98 percent to 306 on Tuesday from 437 on Monday. Total turnover declined by 44.78 percent to $544.22 million from $985.56 million over the same period, according to CBN available data. The figures for Wednesday were not available.
In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the naira remained relatively stable, trading between N1,395 and N1,400 per dollar on Wednesday. The gap between the official and parallel market rates widened slightly to about N40 per dollar from N39 on the previous day.
